ADHERENCE TO ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS AMONG EPILEPTIC PATIENTS IN TAIF: PREVALENCE AND DETERMINANTS

Background: Inadequate adherence to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) leads to increased mortality and morbidity due to poor seizure control. This has direct and indirect effects on healthcare system costs, including disease progression, prolonged hospitalization, and premature disability.

Objectives: To investigate therate and determinants of non-adherence to AEDs.

Patients and Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Al-Hada Armed Forces Hospital in Taif City. The study involved adult epileptic patients who visited the neurology outpatient clinic of the hospital between June 1st and August 31st, 2024. Data was gathered through patient interviews using a validated Arabic questionnaire and a review of medical charts. Adherence to anti-epileptic medications over the past 2 weeks was self-reported by the patients using a 4-item Morisky Green Levine Medication Adherence Scale (MGLS).

Results: A total of 318 epileptic patients were included in the study. The age of more than a third of the patients (35.3%) ranged between 18 and 30 years. High adherence to AEDs was observed among the majority of patients (81.1%), while low adherence was reported in 9.7% of them. The results of multivariate logistic regression showed that patients aged between 41 and 50 years were at almost a three-fold higher risk of being low/intermediate adherent to AEDs compared to those aged 18-30 years (aOR=2.96 95% CI: 1.22-7.15, p=0.016).Patients who have experienced 1-3 seizures per year and those with a frequency of ≤1 seizure per month were found to have a significantly higher likelihood of showing low or intermediate adherence to AEDs compared to patients who have been seizure-free for more than 2 years (aOR=2.87 95% CI: 1.15-7.20, p=0.025 and aOR=3.42 95% CI: 1.60-7.28, p = 0.001, respectively).Compared to patients who did not experience any adverse reactions to AEDs, those who did were at a higher risk of being low/intermediate adherent to AEDs (aOR=5.13 95% CI: 1.62-16.21, p=0.005).

Conclusion:The adherence to anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) among epileptic patients was generally high. However, a significant proportion of patients reported low to intermediate adherence. Therefore, healthcare providers should encourage adherence to AEDs, paying special attention to checking for any potential adverse effects.