Depression is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but it is unknown if successful depression treatment reduces CVD risk.

Using eIMPACT trial data, we examined the effect of modernized collaborative care for depression on indicators of CVD risk. A total of 216 primary care patients with depression and elevated CVD risk were randomized to 12 months of the eIMPACT intervention (internet cognitive-behavioral therapy [CBT], telephonic CBT, and select antidepressant medications) or usual primary care. CVD-relevant health behaviors (self-reported CVD prevention medication adherence, sedentary behavior, and sleep quality) and traditional CVD risk factors (blood pressure and lipid fractions) were assessed over 12 months. Incident CVD events were tracked over four years using a statewide health information exchange.

The intervention group exhibited greater improvement in depressive symptoms (p < 0.01) and sleep quality (p < 0.01) than the usual care group, but there was no intervention effect on systolic blood pressure (p = 0.36), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p = 0.38), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p = 0.79), triglycerides (p = 0.76), CVD prevention medication adherence (p = 0.64), or sedentary behavior (p = 0.57). There was an intervention effect on diastolic blood pressure that favored the usual care group (p = 0.02). The likelihood of an incident CVD event did not differ between the intervention (13/107, 12.1%) and usual care (9/109, 8.3%) groups (p = 0.39).

Successful depression treatment alone is not sufficient to lower the heightened CVD risk of people with depression. Alternative approaches are needed.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02458690

Tuberculosis remains a public health problem, particularly in developing countries. Patients with tuberculosis often suffer from anxiety and depression, which is likely to affect adherence to the long course of tuberculosis treatment.

This study sought to investigate depression, anxiety and medication adherence among Cameroonian tuberculosis patients.

A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2022 across five treatment centres in Fako Division, Southwest Region, Cameroon. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews with tuberculosis patients using a structured questionnaire. Sociodemographic information was obtained, and the following tools were administered to participants: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Oslo Social Support Scale, and the Medication Adherence Rating Scale. Multiple logistic regression models were fitted to investigate determinants of depression and anxiety.

A total of 375 participants were recruited (mean age: 35 ± 12.2 years; 60.5% male). The prevalence rates of depression and anxiety among tuberculosis patients were 47.7% and 29.9%, respectively. After adjusting for confounders, the odds of depression were significantly increased by having extrapulmonary tuberculosis, non-adherence to treatment, having no source of income, household size <5 and poor social support. Predictors for anxiety included extrapulmonary tuberculosis, defaulting tuberculosis treatment for ≥2 months, family history of mental illness, HIV/tuberculosis co-infection, being married, poor social support and non-adherence to treatment.

The prevalence of depression and anxiety in tuberculosis patients is relatively high, and diverse factors may be responsible. Therefore, holistic and comprehensive care for tuberculosis patients by mental health practitioners is highly encouraged, especially for the high-risk groups identified.

Medication adherence by persons with bipolar disorder (BD) is inconsistent. This is disconcerting, as BD is treatment responsive, side-effects are few, and the impact of both hypo/manic and depressive mood episodes can be considerable (e.g., self-harm).

For this study, we computed a path model to identify both direct and indirect predictors of medication adherence. This included both clinical and psychosocial independent variables (e.g., BD symptoms, psychological well-being, alcohol misuse).

From the BADAS (Bipolar Affective Disorder and older Adults) Study, we identified a global sample of adults with the BD. Participants were recruited using microtargeted, Facebook advertising. This sample included persons living in Canada, U.S., U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand (M = 55.35 years, SD = 9.65).

Direct predictors included perceived cognitive failures and alcohol misuse. Of note, medication adherence is inversely associated with number of prescribed antipsychotic medications. Neither symptoms of depression nor hypo/mania emerged as direct predictors of medication adherence. Similarly, psychological well-being appears indirectly associated with adherence (via BD symptoms).

Despite the wide age range of participants (22 – 73 years), age did not emerge as a predictor of adherence. Nor do cognitive failures appear significantly associated with age suggesting that both young and older adults with BD perceived cognitive loss.

No significant relationships.

Previous research confirmed high rates (20-89%) of non-adherence to medication among psychotic and bipolar patients. Results suggests that positive attitude to treatment has the highest influence on patients’ adherence and significant differences between treatment related attitudes and treatment adherence of psychotic and bipolar patients were found.

The aims were to compare treatment related attitudes and treatment adherence between psychotic (schizophrenia spectrum) and bipolar patients; to evaluate the relationship between treatment related attitudes, illness perceptions and health locus of control in psychotic and bipolar populations.

Treatment attitude was evaluated with the Drug Attitude Scale (DAI). Treatment adherence was rated by doctors on Clinical Global Impression (CGI) Scale. Illness perceptions were evaluated with the Illness Perception Questionnaire for Schizophrenia (IPQS) and health locus of control with the Multidimensional of Health Locus of Control Scale –Form C (MHLC) at the end of inpatient care.

Number of participants was 51. Data indicated more positive treatment attitude in bipolar patients than in psychotic patients. MHLC scores indicated significant role in symptoms control for chance (p=0,042) and „powerful” persons (p=0,011) in psychotic patients. IPQS scores indicated that bipolar patients rather have perceptions about treatment influencing symptoms than psychotic patients. Treatment related attitudes were strongly influenced by perceptions about controllability of symptoms by treatment.

Bipolar patients had more positive treatment attitude and perceptions about effectiveness of treatment on symptoms. This illness perception about controllability of symptoms by treatment was the strongest determinant of positive treatment attitude in this study.

No significant relationships.

While specialized early intervention programs represent the gold standard in terms of optimal management of first-episode psychosis (FEP), poor medication adherence remains a predominant unmet need in the treatment of psychosis. In this regard, an interaction between insight and adherence in FEP patients has been hypothesized but has been challenged by multiple pitfalls.

Latent profile analysis and trajectory modeling techniques were used to evaluate insight and adherence of 331 FEP patients engaged at the beginning, middle, and end of a 3-year specialized early psychosis program. A Bayesian model comparison approach was used to compare scores of clinical, functional, and socioeconomic outcomes at the end point of the study.

Nearly one-third of the patients maintain a high level of insight and adherence during the entire program. At the end of the 3-year follow-up, more than three-quarters of patients are considered adherent to their medication. Patients with low levels of insight and adherence at the beginning of the program improve first in terms of adherence and then of insight. Furthermore, patients with high levels of insight and adherence are most likely to reach functional recovery and to experience an increase in environmental quality of life.

Latent FEP subpopulations can be identified based on insight and adherence. Medication adherence was the first variable to improve, but a gain in insight possibly plays a role in the reinforcement of adherence.

High-quality primary care reduces premature mortality in the general population, but evidence for psychiatric patients in China is scarce.

To confirm excess mortality in patients with severe mental illness (SMI), and to examine the impact of community-based mental healthcare and other risk factors on their mortality.

We included 93 655 patients in 2012 and 100 706 in 2013 from the national mental health surveillance system in Sichuan, China to calculate the standardised mortality ratio (SMR). A total of 112 576 patients were followed up from 2009 to 2014 for model analyses. We used growth models to quantify the patterns of change for community management measures, high-risk behaviour, disease stability and medication adherence of patients over time, and then used multilevel proportional hazard models to examine the association between change patterns of management measures and mortality.

The SMR was 6.44 (95% CI 4.94–8.26) in 2012 and 7.57 (95% CI 5.98–9.44) in 2013 among patients with SMI aged 15–34 years, and diminished with age. Unfavourable baseline socioeconomic status increased the hazard of death by 38–50%. Positive changes in high-risk behaviour, disease stability and medication adherence had a 54% (95% CI 47–60%), 69% (95% CI 63–73%) and 20% (4–33%) reduction in hazard of death, respectively, versus in those where these were unchanged.

High excess mortality was confirmed among younger patients with SMI in Sichuan, China. Our findings on the relationships between community management and socioeconomic factors and mortality can inform community-based mental healthcare policies to reduce excess mortality among patients with SMI.

Many patients discontinue antidepressant therapy long before the six-month minimum duration recommended for the treatment of major depression and many other diagnoses.

To estimate the duration of antidepressant treatment and to analyse the following factors in relation to treatment adherence: age, sex, polypharmacy and type of drug.

Retrospective cohort followed up for five years (2003–2007) based on prescription database. Selection criteria: Users who had received at least one antidepressant prescription in 2003 and who had not received antidepressants during the previous 12 months.

Age, sex, drug, polypharmacy, period of treatment, packs dispensed. Adequate adherence was defined as dispensation of medication during at least 80% of the treatment period, and compliance was defined as good when, in addition, the treatment lasted more than four months.

Of the 7525 patients selected, 56% abandoned medication during the first four months. Men were more likely to give up medication before time than women. Good compliance was recorded in 22% of patients and was twice as frequent in patients with high levels of polypharmacy than in those with low levels (31% vs. 15.3%). Patients receiving maprotiline, venlafaxine, mirtazapine, citalopram, clomipramine and fluoxetine presented the highest percentages of good compliance.

Only one out of five patients complied with treatment for over four months. Treatment periods were shorter in men. In chronic processes, patients receiving polypharmacy presented the best compliance.

The Antipsychotic Long-acTing injection in schizOphrenia (ALTO) study was a non-interventional study across several European countries examining prescription of long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics to identify sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients receiving and physicians prescribing LAIs. ALTO was also the first large-scale study in Europe to report on the use of both first- or second-generation antipsychotic (FGA- or SGA-) LAIs.

Patients with schizophrenia receiving a FGA- or SGA-LAI were enrolled between June 2013 and July 2014 and categorized as incident or prevalent users. Assessments included measures of disease severity, functioning, insight, well-being, attitudes towards antipsychotics, and quality of life.

For the 572 patients, disease severity was generally mild-to-moderate and the majority were unemployed and/or socially withdrawn. 331/572 were prevalent LAI antipsychotic users; of whom 209 were prescribed FGA-LAI. Paliperidone was the most commonly prescribed SGA-LAI (56% of incident users, 21% of prevalent users). 337/572 (58.9%) were considered at risk of non-adherence. Prevalent LAI users had a tendency towards better insight levels (PANSS G12 item). Incident FGA-LAI users had more severe disease, poorer global functioning, lower quality of life, higher rates of non-adherence, and were more likely to have physician-reported lack of insight.

These results indicate a lower pattern of FGA-LAI usage, reserved by prescribers for seemingly more difficult-to-treat patients and those least likely to adhere to oral medication.

Because ethically and practically a randomized control trial of antipsychotics will never be done, we recently conducted and reported a 8- to 50-year, naturalistic follow-up from an academic clinic of patients with chronic schizophrenia on antipsychotic medication. We found that better medication adherence was a statistically significant predictor of better long-term global outcome and life satisfaction. Because there were important limitations on our findings, we now in this communication, using similar methodology, detail outcomes for a very different sample—inner city patients with chronic schizophrenia with a long past history of antipsychotic treatment, who were enrolled in clinical trials for new medications for schizophrenia.

This is a retrospective, naturalistic, longitudinal 6- to 49-years antipsychotic treatment (mean average, 20) follow-up of a consecutive series of patients volunteering for screening for studies with schizophrenia. Lifetime data were collected on (1) their medication adherence, (2) long-term global outcome, and (3) life satisfaction. Outcomes were rated by 2 different clinicians, 1 with information on medication adherence (nonblind rater) and 1 without (blind rater). We used linear regression models adjusted for age, family support, substance use disorder, race, marital status, and number of years in treatment to estimate the association between adherence and each outcome.

A total of 34 patients were assessed. Medication adherence was positively associated with the blind clinician’s rating of global outcome (P value=0.03) and the global assessment of functioning (P value=0.05). In the nonblinded clinician rating, medication adherence was unrelated to global outcome (P value=0.26) and to patients’ report of life satisfaction (P value=0.54).

This replication study, like our previous study, is not inconsistent with the recommendation for continuous, long-term treatment for chronic schizophrenia unless medically contraindicated.

Adherence to treatment is a primary determinant of treatment success. Caregiver support can influence medication adherence in people with cognitive impairment. This study sought to characterize medication adherence in older people with dementia from the caregivers’ perspective, and to identify influencing factors.

Caregivers caring for a person with dementia and living in the community were eligible to complete the survey. Bayesian profile regression was applied to identify determinants of medication adherence measured using the Adherence to Refills and Medication Scale.

Out of the 320 caregivers who participated in the survey, Bayesian profile regression on 221 participants identified two groups: Profile 1 (55 caregivers) with a mean adherence rate of 0.69 (80% Credible Interval (CrI): 0.61–0.77), and Profile 2 (166 caregivers) with a mean adherence rate of 0.80 (80% CrI: 0.77–0.84). Caregivers in Profile 1 were characterized with below data average scores for the following: cognitive functioning, commitment or intention, self-efficacy, and health knowledge, which were all above the data average in Profile 2, except for health knowledge. Caregivers in Profile 1 had a greater proportion of care recipients taking more than five medications and with late-stage dementia. Trade, technical, or vocational training was more common among the caregivers in Profile 1. Profile 2 caregivers had a better patient–provider relationship and less medical problems.

Bayesian profile regression was useful in understanding caregiver factors that influence medication adherence. Tailored interventions to the determinants of medication adherence can guide the development of evidence-based interventions.

Despite recent interest in community-based screening programs to detect undiagnosed cognitive disorder, little is known about whether screening leads to further diagnostic evaluation, or the effects of such programs in terms of actual changes in patient or caregiver behavior. This study followed up informants of older adults (i.e. caregivers of patients who completed informant-based screening regarding the patient) following participation in a study screening for undiagnosed memory problems, to explore uptake of further diagnostic evaluation or treatment, advance planning or preparations, lifestyle changes, medication adherence, and use of support services.

A total of 140 informants of older adult patients were surveyed four to fifteen months following participation in a cognitive screening study. The informants were interviewed with a study-specific survey about cognitive assessment, advance planning, lifestyle changes, and use of support services and general medication adherence.

A minority of patients and informants had engaged in advance planning or made relevant lifestyle changes following cognitive screening. Those assessed as being at higher risk of memory problems were more likely to have attended a full diagnostic evaluation, engaged in support services and experienced medication adherence difficulties.

Only a small proportion of patients participating in cognitive screening subsequently engaged in diagnostic evaluation, advance planning, or lifestyle changes. However, those with higher risk of cognitive impairment were generally more likely to take some action following cognitive screening. Those at higher risk were also more vulnerable due to greater difficulties with medication adherence.