Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40060203›Full record

ArticleCJC open2025

The COVID-19 Pandemic Did Not Negatively Impact Adherence to Cardiovascular Medications Among 548,601 Chronically Treated Patients in Alberta.

Finlay A McAlister, Anamaria Savu, Luan Manh Chu, Douglas C Dover, Padma Kaul

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in CJC open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

5 authors.

Finlay A McAlisterCanadian Vigour Centre, Katz Group Centre for Pharmacy and Health Research, University of Alberta College of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Anamaria SavuCanadian Vigour Centre, Katz Group Centre for Pharmacy and Health Research, University of Alberta College of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Luan Manh ChuCanadian Vigour Centre, Katz Group Centre for Pharmacy and Health Research, University of Alberta College of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Douglas C DoverCanadian Vigour Centre, Katz Group Centre for Pharmacy and Health Research, University of Alberta College of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Padma KaulCanadian Vigour Centre, Katz Group Centre for Pharmacy and Health Research, University of Alberta College of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Studies have suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted patient adherence with chronic medications. We explored whether adherence patterns changed in patients chronically treated with cardiovascular drugs after onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study we examined drug dispensation data for all adult Albertans who were chronic users of at least 1 cardiovascular drug class between 2017 and 2023. We calculated each patient's proportion of days covered (PDC) for each drug class in the prepandemic phase (March 15, 2018 to March 14, 2020) and the pandemic phase (March 15, 2020 to March 14, 2022), and used generalized estimating equation logistic regression to estimate the effect of time period on achievement of good adherence (PDC >0.8) after adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and comorbidities. Results: Of 548,601 chronic users of at least 1 cardiovascular drug class between March 15, 2018 and March 14, 2022, 47.2% were women, the mean age was 62.3 years, and 55.4% had Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) scores of 0. The most frequently dispensed cardiovascular drugs were angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers (67.6%) and statins (53.8%); the most frequent diagnoses were hypertension (77.2%), diabetes mellitus (30.6%), and ischemic heart disease (19.6%). Chronic users of cardiovascular drugs were more likely to have PDC >0.8 during the pandemic than in the prepandemic period: 75.4% vs 72.8%, with adjusted odds ratios ranging from 1.05 (95% confidence interval 1.00-1.11) for mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists to 1.16 (95% confidence interval 1.15-1.17) for statins. Conclusions: Chronic users of cardiovascular drugs exhibited better adherence during the COVID-19 pandemic than before the pandemic.

Identifiers

PMID40060203
PMCPMC11886360

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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.