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Key message: Activating (EPS, agitation) and sedating effects are among the most ‘bothersome’ antipsychotic adverse events, as rated by patients: 86.2% of patients with schizophrenia reported the presence of any adverse event.
Background
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Data were analysed from a 2007–2008 US survey of adults who self-reported a diagnosis of schizophrenia and were currently using an antipsychotic medication (n=876).[DiBonaventura et al., 2012]
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Adverse events were defined as ‘present’ if the patient reported that the adverse event was at least ‘somewhat bothered’.[DiBonaventura et al., 2012]
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Adherence was defined as a score of zero on the MMAS, and the relationships between adherence and health resource use were also examined.[DiBonaventura et al., 2012]
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A majority (86.2%) of patients reported experiencing at least one adverse event due to their medication, and only 42.5% reported complete adherence.
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Most adverse events were associated with a significantly reduced likelihood of adherence.[DiBonaventura et al., 2012]
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When grouped as adverse event clusters in a single model, EPS/agitation (OR: 0.57, p=0.0007), sedation/cognition (OR: 0.70, p=0.033), prolactin/endocrine (OR: 0.69, p=0.0342), and metabolic adverse events (OR: 0.64, p=0.0079) were all significantly related to lower rates of adherence.[DiBonaventura et al., 2012]
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Patients who reported complete adherence to their medication were significantly less likely to report a hospitalisation for a mental health reason (OR: 0.51, p=0.0006), a hospitalisation for a non-mental health reason (OR: 0.43, p=0.0002), or an emergency room (ER) visit for a mental health reason (OR: 0.60, p=0.008).[DiBonaventura et al., 2012]
Reference:
DiBonaventura M, Gabriel S, Dupclay L, et al. A patient perspective of the impact of medication side effects on adherence: results of a cross-sectional nationwide survey of patients with schizophrenia. BMC Psychiatry 2012; 12: 20.