HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Chisholm-Burns, M. A. Articles by Spivey, C. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Chisholm-Burns, M. A. Articles by Spivey, C. A.

MARIE A. CHISHOLM-BURNS, PHARM.D., MPH, FCCP, FASHP, is Professor and Department Head, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy (UACP), Tucson. W. JAQUELINE KWONG, PHARM.D., PH.D., is Director, Worldwide Health Economics and Pricing, Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Services, Raritan, NJ. LAURA L. MULLOY, D.O., FACP, is Professor of Medicine and Chief, Section of Nephrology, Hypertension and Transplantation Medicine, Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine, Augusta. CHRISTINA A. SPIVEY, PH.D., is Research Coordinator, UACP.

Address correspondence to Dr. Chisholm-Burns at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, 1295 N. Martin Avenue, P.O. Box 21202, Tucson, AZ 85721 (chisholm{at}pharmacy.arizona.edu).

Purpose. Relationships between adherence to immunosuppressant therapy and adult renal transplant recipients’ age, time posttransplant, race, and sex were evaluated to identify factors that predict nonadherence. Methods. Pharmacy refill data were used to measure adherence. In a primary analysis, stepwise regression was used to assess the relationship between independent variables (age, sex, time posttransplant, and race) and adherence. In a secondary analysis to provide categorical summaries, stepwise regression was used to assess the relationship between independent variables (age quartiles, sex, time posttransplant quartiles, and race) and adherence. Results. In the primary analysis, age and time posttransplant were significant predictors of adherence rate (p < 0.05), with adherence rate decreasing as age and time posttransplant increased. In the secondary analysis, age quartile 4 (60 years) and time posttransplant quartile 1 (4 years) were significant predictors of adherence (p < 0.01), with adherence rates lower among age quartile 4 and higher among posttransplant quartile 1. Conclusion. In patients who had received renal transplants, the rate of adherence to immunosuppressant therapy decreased as patient age and time since transplantation increased. Index terms: Age; Compliance; Immunosuppressive agents; Patients; Race; Sex; Transplantation