The Pattern of Adherence in Patients with Bipolar I Disorder; an Eight Weeks Study

Ôbjectives: Non-adherence limits the effectiveness of medications among patients with bipolar disorder. Many studies have investigated the predicting factors of non-adherence. This paper aims to present the pattern of adherence in patients with bipolar Ï disorder (BÏD). Seventy six patients with BÏD enrolled in a prospective study. The Medication Possession Ratio (MPR) was used to evaluate patients'' adherence to medications, and repeated measure analysis was performed to reveal the pattern of variations. Â Persian translation of Drug Âttitude Ïnventory (DÂÏ-10) (shortened version) was used to assess the attitude of patients toward medications. the repeated measure analysis revealed that the adherence to medications successively decreased (p<0.001). Âge, gender, marital status, educational level, comorbid substance abuse did not alter the pattern.Çonclusion: There is a decreasing pattern in the adherence to medications among BÏD patients, regardless of known predicting factors of non-adherence. Ït means even fully adherent patients could potentially become non-adherents during the course of maintenance treatment.