L’adhésion pharmacologique et les difficultés cognitives
Adherence refers to the extent to which a patient respects the dosage and frequency of medication taken as prescribed for the recommended time. Despite the availability of many effective treatments, the problem of non-adherence is ubiquitous in medicine and in the psychiatric population. Patients with mood disorder or ADHD often have cognitive deficits. A research project conducted with 52 patients is presented. Results show that cognitive difficulties as perceived by patients reduce adherence. Areas such as inhibition, shift, working memory, planning and organization and the ability to initiate an action are particularly important. Ability to initiate tasks shows a trend to predict poorer adherence and correlates with adherence. Quick and simple tools permitting the assessment of cognition and adherence in clinical practice could help identify these problems. Targeted adherence enhancing interventions could then be offered to patients with such difficulties. Choosing interventions adapted to the individual on the basis of the specific profile of adherence influencing factors is an avenue which requires further exploration.
Cognition Adherence Executive function ADHD Mood disorder Depression