People suffering from chronic illnesses less likely to take medication
Improve medication adherence
SANTA MONICA, Calif.—People suffering from depression are less likely to stick to a medication regimen to treat chronic health problems, putting them at increased risk of more serious health issues, according to a study released by the Santa Monica-based RAND Corp.
The study found that depressed patients suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease were 76 percent less likely to adhere to their medication schedule, when compared to patients who are not depressed.
"These findings provide the best evidence to date that depression is an important risk factor that may influence whether patients adhere to their medications,'' RAND natural scientist and senior study author Walid F. Gellad said. "There are important implications for both patient health and for health care costs.
"Doctors and other providers should periodically ask patients with depression about medication adherence.''
The study was conducted by RAND and Claremont Graduate School researchers who combined information from 31 previous reviews involving more than 18,000 people. In addition to heart disease and diabetes, the study evaluated patients suffering from conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and asthma.
"The consistent link between depression and non-adherence across all these illnesses underscores the seriousness of the role that depression plays in keeping people from properly managing chronic conditions,'' according to lead study author Jerry Grenard of Claremont Graduate School.
"That consistency also suggests that lessons learned about how to improve medication adherence among depressed patients with one disease may be applied to other chronic conditions.''
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The National Institutes of Health awarded $81.3 million to UCLA and several partners for research into conditions that cause disability and early death in Los Angeles County.
Rates of premature death and disability related to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, AIDS, depression, violence and other preventable conditions in the county far exceed national averages, according to Dr. A. Eugene Washington, UCLA’s vice chancellor for health sciences and dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Nearly 14 percent of adults surveyed in Los Angeles County said they had been diagnosed with depression, up from about 9 percent in 1999, the county's top health official said today.
Donating vital organs such as kidneys is probably one of the most generous gifts a person can give, but African Americans might become a little less giving due to the findings in a study that was recently released by the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
The Journal reported that Blacks who donate a kidney find themselves facing a higher risk of kidney disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, than Whites who donate.
PASADENA, Calif.—Children who are overweight or obese have a significantly higher prevalence of psoriasis, and teens with psoriasis, regardless of their body weight, have higher cholesterol levels, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online in the Journal of Pediatrics. The study findings suggest that higher heart disease risk for patients with psoriasis starts in childhood in the form of higher cholesterol levels.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The rate of people dying from heart disease in Los Angeles County dropped by 41 percent between 1996 and 2007, while the rate of people dying from strokes fell by 39 percent.
"These declines in heart disease and stroke mortality represent great improvements in the public's health, and they will become more important still as the population ages,'' according to Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of county Public Health.
