Poor Adherence to Medical and Dietary Treatments in Adult Patients With Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Introduction: To investigate the adherence to prescribed medical and dietary maintenance treatments in a cohort of adult patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and to identify associated factors.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, adult patients with EoE who were prescribed medical or dietary maintenance therapy were included. Patients were asked to complete questionnaires concerning treatment adherence (Medication Adherence Rating Scale), beliefs about treatment (Beliefs about Medicine Questionnaire), beliefs about disease (Illness Perception Questionnaire), and current symptoms (Straumann Dysphagia Index).

Results: A total of 177 patients with EoE (71% males) were included, with a median age of 43 years. The overall prevalence of poor adherence to prescribed treatments (Medication Adherence Rating Scale < 21 or Diet Adherence Rating Scale < 21) in this cohort was high, being 41.8%. Medically treated patients seemed less adherent to prescribed treatment compared with patients prescribed a diet (35.1% vs 41.8%, P = 0.320). Multivariate logistic regression analyses identified the following independent factors associated with poor treatment adherence: age <40 years (odds ratio [OR] 2.571, 95% CI 1.195-5.532, P = 0.016), longer disease duration in years (OR 1.130, 95% CI 1.014-1.258, P = 0.027), severe symptoms (Straumann Dysphagia Index) (OR 1.167, 95% CI 1.012-1.345, P = 0.034), and low necessity beliefs (OR 4.423, 95% CI 2.169-9.016, P < 0.001).

Discussion: Adherence to maintenance treatment is poor in many adult patients with EoE. Clinicians should pay more attention to treatment adherence, particularly in younger patients, and discuss the necessity of treatment.