Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Fail to Take Expensive Medication

A research has found that those with severe rheumatoid arthritis fail to take expensive medication that has been prescribed to them.

The latest study, by the University of Manchester, analyzed the data of 286 patients who attended 60 rheumatology clinics across UK between 2008-2012, who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for seven years. They found that most of the people with severe rheumatoid arthritis do not take the expensive medication that was prescribed.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects the joints in hands and feet. In the U.S 2 million people suffer from this condition and it mostly affects women. It is known as one of the most disabling types of arthritis.

Evaluation of the data revealed that nearly 27 percent of the patients had non-adherence to the biological therapy. Self-reported non-adherence was whether or not the person was taking a dose of anti-TNF therapy on the day recommended by the health professional, and this was recorded at three and six months.

The patients in the study were on a class of drugs called anti-TNF therapies, that blocks the tumor necrosis factor pathway during the inflammatory process that triggers rheumatoid arthritis. These patients were from 60 hospitals around the UK. The researchers from the Arthritis Research UK Centre for Genetics and Genomics at the University, cautioned that those who failed to take the drugs as recommended, lowered the effectiveness that could eventually worsen the condition of the patient.

Study author Dr Kimme added, "If patients do not take their medication as prescribed it is likely to have a significant effect on whether they respond to therapy and could mean that their condition deteriorates more quickly affecting their quality of life. Non-adherence is also a waste of scarce healthcare resources and something that needs to be addressed."

It was not known whether non-adherence displayed by patients was accidental or deliberate. Those with chronic disease will have to stay on these therapies for years.

There is an ongoing research that is evaluating the reasons why those with arthritis fail to take medications as prescribed by the health professionals.

The study was documented in the journal Rheumatology.