Key result
Depression fails to significantly associate with lower medication adherence in older CVD patients.
Why the study?
Medication adherence predicts clinical outcomes in CVD and is affected by depression, prompting an investigation into their relationship in older CVD patients.
Does depression reduce medication adherence in older patients with cardiovascular disease?
Meta-Analysis (n=10,153)
Does depression reduce medication adherence in older patients with cardiovascular disease?
Odds Ratio: 0.603 (95% CI 0.252–1.442)
Depression in older patients with cardiovascular disease is associated with an estimated 40% reduction in medication adherence, highlighting the importance of routine depression screening in this high-risk population.
Association inconclusive (wide CI crossing 1); leaves open whether depression screening improves adherence in older CVD patients.
Background: Depression and cardiovascular disease (CVD) by the end of 2030 will be among the major causes of disability worldwide. Meanwhile, medication adherence is an important factor in predicting clinical outcomes in patients with CVD. Further, lack of medication compliance is affected by depression. Thus, this study aimed to explore the relationship between depression and medication adherence among older patients with CVD. Materials and Methods: The search was done across eight databases of PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Embase, Scopus, APA Psycinfo, CINAHL/ebsco, ProQuest, and Web of Science. For the selection of included studies, there were no constraints regarding publication language. All studies available in each of the databases were searched up to December 9, 2021. Risk of bias assessment was done based on the Joanna Briggs Institute scale. The final result was estimated using a random effects model. The data were analyzed by CMA 2 software. Results: Seven studies and 10,153 elderly suffering from CVD were identified. Most included studies had reported an inverse association between depression and medication adherence. There was a small effect between depression and medication adherence among these older patients (combined odds ratio 0.603, 95% confidence interval 0.252-1.442). Thus, having depression would reduce medication adherence by 40%. Conclusion: Depression has a considerable effect on medication adherence among older patients with CVD. Thus, it is suggested that considering the importance of depression and lack of medication adherence in increasing the negative outcomes of this disease in these patients, primary studies be conducted in this regard to achieve conclusive results in subsequent systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
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Berimavandi et al. (2025) conducted a meta-analysis in Cardiovascular disease (CVD) with depression (n=10,153). Depression vs. No depression was evaluated on Medication adherence (OR 0.603, 95% CI 0.252-1.442). Depression was associated with a 40% reduction in medication adherence among older patients with cardiovascular disease, though the pooled estimate was inconclusive with a wide confidence interval (OR 0.603, 95% CI 0.252-1.442).
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