The following is a summary of “Cost–related medication nonadherence in US adults with asthma: The National Health Interview Survey, 2013-2020,” published in the November 2023  issue of Allergy & Immunology by Xia, et al.

Asthma is a long-term illness that must be managed for a long time to keep it from worsening. Healthcare costs related to asthma are going up in the US, and asthma patients who don’t take their medications as prescribed are more likely to have bad health results. For a study, researchers sought to find out how common cost-related medication nonadherence (CRN) was among people with asthma in the US and what factors make it more likely; researchers looked at data from the National Health Interview Survey 2013–2020, which included people with a history of asthma who were at least 18 years old. 

Participants were thought to have had CRN if they said they skipped doses, took less medicine, or put off getting a prescription to save money at any point during the year. They calculated the weighted frequency of CRN for the whole population and different groups. Logistic regression was used to find traits tied to the CRN. Of the 26,539 people with a history of asthma who participated in the National Health Interview Survey, 4,360 (15.77%, or 3.92 million people in the US) reported CRN. 

Of these, 10.12% (or 2.51 million) skipped doses to save money, 10.82% (or 2.69 million) took less medication to save money, and 13.35% (or 3.31 million) put off filling a prescription to save money. CRN was more common among young people, women, people with low incomes, people who don’t have health insurance, people who smoke, and people who have other health problems. The main results and the results of this sensitivity study were the same. In the US, one in six people who have had asthma in the past don’t take their medicines as prescribed because they are too expensive. Getting rid of financial hurdles to getting medication can help asthma people take their medicines as prescribed.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1081120623005185