Non-adherence to therapies, with patients who for the most varied reasons do not take the prescribed drugs, is an 'epidemic' which causes 125,000 deaths a year in the USA alone.
The New York Times recalls this, citing a review published by Annals of Internal Medicine according to which for chronic diseases the rate reaches almost 50%.
At least 10% of hospitalizations in the United States, the magazine points out, are due to the consequences of therapies not followed correctly. A third of kidney transplant patients don't take their anti-rejection drugs, the 41% of heart attack survivors don't keep their blood pressure under control, and half of children with asthma don't use their inhaler correctly.
Among the reasons there is the tendency not to take medicines when there are no more symptoms, explains Lisa Rosenbaum of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, or even the view of pills as something 'unnatural', as in the case of a patient who before a heart attack had replaced statins with fish oil although there is no scientific evidence of effectiveness.
"There is a constant pressure towards 'natural' choices - explains the expert - and the emphasis on diet and exercise convince patients that there is no need for drugs".
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