Treatment adherence in chronic uveitis: What does the MARS-5 tell us?

This study aimed to evaluate medication adherence among patients with chronic uveitis using the five-item Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5) and to identify the difficulties and barriers affecting adherence. A single-center, cross-sectional study was conducted with 99 adult patients diagnosed with chronic uveitis. Participants completed sociodemographic and disease-related questionnaires, the MARS-5 scale, and if scoring below 25 a nine-item adherence barrier questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and appropriate parametric or non-parametric tests were used to analyze relationships between adherence and sociodemographic or clinical variables. The mean age of the participants was 32.6 ± 8.7 years, and the mean total MARS-5 score was 22.9 ± 2.3. Adherence levels were perfect in 38.4% of patients, high in 48.5%, and moderate in 13.1%; no participants demonstrated poor adherence. Male patients exhibited significantly lower MARS-5 scores than females (p < 0.001). A moderate positive correlation was found between adherence and duration of medication use (r = 0.447, p = 0.012). The item most frequently indicating non-adherence was “forgetting to take medication.” The most commonly reported barriers were fear of side effects (34.4%) and medication-related difficulties such as unpleasant taste, tablet size, or injection-related concerns (26.2%). Medication adherence among chronic uveitis patients was generally high but influenced by sociodemographic and behavioral factors. Both intentional and unintentional non-adherence were observed, emphasizing the need for individualized adherence-support strategies, improved patient education, and enhanced communication to optimize long-term disease management.