Prevalence and biopsychosocial factors associated with treatment adherence among people with epilepsy in a tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Objectives: To identify the magnitude of treatment adherence among people with epilepsy (PWE) and the impact of sociodemographic, medical and psychosocial factors on treatment adherence. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional observational study was performed based on data collected from adult patients attending the epilepsy clinic, King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Patients completed paper-based questionnaires including a sociodemographic, cultural, psychiatric history and medical history sections. In addition to that we evaluated treatment adherence by visual-analogue scale (VAS), depressive symptoms by PHQ-9, anxiety symptoms by GAD7, physical symptoms by PHQ-15, attachment style by ECR16 and cognitive impairment by MOCA. Results: A total of 207 patients participated, with a mean age of 34 years;.53.6% were female. The mean patient-reported adherence to their treatment regimen was 81.6%±18.4%. Univariate analysis revealed statistically significant negative associations between depression, anxiety and physical symptoms and treatment adherence. However, multiple linear regression analysis only showed physical symptoms to be a significant predictor for epilepsy medication adherence. Conclusion: Somatic (physical) complaints could be important predictors of treatment adherence in (PWE). This study is one of the first to suggest the importance of targeting physical symptoms in screening and intervention approaches to improve Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) adherence.