A STUDY OF COMPLIANCE WITH LIPID-LOWERING THERAPY IN INPATIENTS

Hypercholesterolemia requires chronic daily treatment and therefore ca n raise problems with compliance. To add to the very meagre store of i nformation published On this issue, a pragmatic study of the reasons p ut forward by inpatients to explain poor compliance with lipid-lowerin g medication regimens was conducted. Of the 61 study patients (38 men and 23 women; mean age, 54.5+/-11 years), 38 reported having missed at least one dose during the previous month. Two reasons from a list of nine were selected by nearly half the patients, namely ''being away fr om home for the weekend or for vacations'' and ''no particular reason' '. An analysis of patient characteristics according to the reasons sel ected did not allow to identify any well-defined patient subgroups. Fu rther studies are needed to elucidate the factors that lead to poor co mpliance and to test methods that may improve compliance.