This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Patient compliance a ‘major problem’ with glaucoma meds in France
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
PARIS — A French survey estimates that almost 40% of glaucoma patients do not take their medication properly. Overall, 1.2 million people aged 40 years or older are medically treated for glaucoma or ocular hypertension with pressure-lowering drugs in France, the study found.
“This study has given us the opportunity to draw some interesting conclusions,” said Alain Bron, MD, here at the French Society of Ophthalmology meeting.
Variations in the prevalence rate were seen in both educational and social levels, the survey found. A higher prevalence of glaucoma was found in areas of higher population density (and, therefore, higher medical service facilities and personnel).
Almost as many patients use monotherapy topical medication (29%) as those who used two different medications (36%) and those who used three or more topical medications (33%). Beta-blockers remain the most commonly prescribed drug (60%), but prostaglandins are starting to be used more frequently as well (45%).
“There are areas in France that are still not properly covered by the medical services that are needed for appropriate screening and early diagnosis of glaucoma within the general population,” Prof. Bron said.
The survey also showed that 39% of patients show poor compliance with their prescribed treatment, an inverse relationship to the number of drops the patient has been prescribed daily.
“The more drops a patient has to use, the less compliant he or she tends to become towards the treatment. Younger patients also tend to be more careless and irregular than older patients. Of the patients who admit to being irregular with their medications, 67% are between the age of 40 and 49,” Prof. Bron said.