Investigating Factors Associated with Drug Adherence Among Individuals with Hyperuricemia: A Cross-sectional Study

The prevalence of hyperuricemia is on the rise in specific populations, and there are difficulties in maintaining medication adherence. This study aims to investigate the factors linked to drug adherence in individuals with hyperuricemia. This was a cross-sectional study, which was conducted in 2023 by recruiting respondents with hyperuricemia. The demographic data collected included age, gender, occupation, body height and weight, education, marital status and ethnicity. Furthermore, drug adherence was determined based on the response to the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8. Acceptance and knowledge were measured using questionnaires given to the participants. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was then used to obtain the determinants of drug adherence. Among 524 respondents who participated in the study, 60.3% and 30.15% had moderate and high adherence to serum uric acid-lowering drugs, respectively. The results showed that older age had a strong association with lower adherence ( p < .01), while high disease acceptance significantly predicted higher levels ( p < .01). Knowledge about gout symptoms ( p = .003; OR: 0.28 [95% CI: 0.12-0.65]), causal factors ( p < .001; OR: 2.63 [95% CI: 1.48-4.65]) and uric acid-lowering alternatives ( p < .001; OR: 8.17 [95% CI: 4.11-16.25]) also had a positive correlation with higher levels. Knowledge and acceptance had a significant correlation with drug adherence among individuals with hyperuricemia in Aceh Province, Indonesia.