Medication Adherence in Children and Adolescents with Acne Vulgaris in Medicaid: A Retrospective Study Analysis

Abstract

Objectives The objectives of the study were to evaluate and compare medication adherence associated with acne drugs in children and adolescents with acne vulgaris. Methods Data from MarketScan Medicaid enrollees with acne vulgaris were included if patients were ages 6 to 17 years on the index date, had at least one acne-related medication claim, and were enrolled in Medicaid during January 2004 to December 2007. The adherence rate was measured using the medication possession ratio. The medication possession ratio was dichotomized to categorize patients as adherent (≥0.8) or nonadherent (<0.8). Multivariate logistic regressions were used for analyses of the medication possession ratio. Results Of 20,039 eligible patients, 2,860 patients were children and 17,179 patients were adolescent. Approximately 6.96% of children and 16.75% of adolescents had at least one acne-related medication refill. The mean adherence rate to acne medication was significantly different between children (0.22) and adolescents (0.32). In addition, only 3.71% of children were adherent to acne medication while 13.38% of adolescents were adherent. After controlling for covariates, adolescents were 2.06 times more likely to get an acne-related medication refilled and were 2.40 times more likely to be adherent to acne-related medication. The analyses also showed that acne-related medication adherence was associated with the patient's characteristics and acne medication type. Conclusion Neither patient population was considered adherent to acne-related medications, nor was there a significant difference between the two patient populations. This study also revealed that medication type is a contributing factor towards adherence. Health care providers should strive to educate patients on the importance of medication adherence.