Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21533823›Full record

SynthesisJournal of general internal medicine2011

Depression and medication adherence in the treatment of chronic diseases in the United States: a meta-analysis.

Jerry L Grenard, Brett A Munjas, John L Adams, Marika Suttorp, Margaret Maglione, Elizabeth A McGlynn, Walid F Gellad

Abstract readComparative StudyMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of general internal medicine, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 297 papers, 15 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
297citing papers in PubMed, 15 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

297 citing papers in PubMed, 15 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  5. Anxiety, depression and acromegaly: a systematic review.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2025
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  15. Positive affect and medication adherence in chronic conditions: A systematic review.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2019
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237 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Jerry L GrenardClaremont Graduate University, San Dimas, CA 91773-3901, USA. jerry.grenard@cgu.edu
Brett A Munjas
John L Adams
Marika Suttorp
Margaret Maglione
Elizabeth A McGlynn
Walid F Gellad

Funding

UCLA/RAND HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAMT32HS000046 · AHRQ · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI EISENBERG, DANIEL · 1992 to 2024
$8.7M
AHRQ HHS T32 HS000046AHRQ HHS T32 HS00046-14HSRD VA CDA 09-207
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo conduct a meta-analysis of the association between depression and medication adherence among patients with chronic diseases. Poor medication adherence may result in worse outcomes and higher costs than if patients fully adhere to their medication regimens. DATA SOURCES: We searched the PubMed and PsycINFO databases, conducted forward searches for articles that cited major review articles, and examined the reference lists of relevant articles. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, PARTICIPANTS, AND

interventionsWe included studies on adults in the United States that reported bivariate relationships between depression and medication adherence. We excluded studies on special populations (e.g., substance abusers) that were not representative of the general adult population with chronic diseases, studies on certain diseases (e.g., HIV) that required special adherence protocols, and studies on interventions for medication adherence. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS

methodsData abstracted included the study population, the protocol, measures of depression and adherence, and the quantitative association between depression and medication adherence. Synthesis of the data followed established statistical procedures for meta-analysis.

resultsThe estimated odds of a depressed patient being non-adherent are 1.76 times the odds of a non-depressed patient, across 31 studies and 18,245 participants. The association was similar across disease types but was not as strong among studies that used pharmacy records compared to self-report and electronic cap measures. LIMITATIONS: The meta-analysis results are correlations limiting causal inferences, and there is some heterogeneity among the studies in participant characteristics, diseases studied, and methods used.

conclusionsThis analysis provides evidence that depression is associated with poor adherence to medication across a range of chronic diseases, and we find a new potential effect of adherence measurement type on this relationship. Although this study cannot assess causality, it supports the importance that must be placed on depression in studies that assess adherence and attempt to improve it.

Indexed as

Chronic DiseaseDepressionHumansMedication AdherenceRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment OutcomeUnited States

Identifiers

PMID21533823
PMCPMC3181287

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.