: Background Asthma control is the goal of the management, but some patients do not achieve adequate control. Adherence to prescriptions is a relevant factor in this issue. As very few studies addressed this problem in adolescents, we investigated this aspect in this setting. Methods This cross-sectional study consecutively enrolled 87 adolescents (60 males, 27 females, median age 14.2 years) with asthma visited at a third-level pediatric clinic. We used two questionnaires: Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) and TAI. Results As regards MMAS-8, 23 (26.6%) adolescents had low adherence, 34 (39%) medium, and 30 (34.4%) high. Concerning TAI, 34 (39%) had low adherence, 43 (49.5%) medium, and 10 (11.5%) high. After stratification per asthma control grade, adolescents with partly-controlled asthma had the highest scores for medium adherence (p=0.0017 and 0.049, respectively for MMAS-8 and TAI). Conclusions Adolescents with asthma have poor adherence independently to the asthma control grade. This failure implicates that more attention should be paid to this issue in clinical practice.
Asthma control in adolescents: the importance of assessing adherence
Licari, Amelia;Castagnoli, Riccardo;Marseglia, Gian Luigi
2022-01-01
Abstract
: Background Asthma control is the goal of the management, but some patients do not achieve adequate control. Adherence to prescriptions is a relevant factor in this issue. As very few studies addressed this problem in adolescents, we investigated this aspect in this setting. Methods This cross-sectional study consecutively enrolled 87 adolescents (60 males, 27 females, median age 14.2 years) with asthma visited at a third-level pediatric clinic. We used two questionnaires: Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) and TAI. Results As regards MMAS-8, 23 (26.6%) adolescents had low adherence, 34 (39%) medium, and 30 (34.4%) high. Concerning TAI, 34 (39%) had low adherence, 43 (49.5%) medium, and 10 (11.5%) high. After stratification per asthma control grade, adolescents with partly-controlled asthma had the highest scores for medium adherence (p=0.0017 and 0.049, respectively for MMAS-8 and TAI). Conclusions Adolescents with asthma have poor adherence independently to the asthma control grade. This failure implicates that more attention should be paid to this issue in clinical practice.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
