Clinical impact and drivers of non-adherence to maintenance medication for inflammatory bowel disease

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) require maintenance medication to sustain remission and as a prophylaxis against the development of colorectal dysplasia. Non-adherence can compromise the effectiveness of treatment plans. Areas covered: Depending on study cohort and country, 7 - 72% of IBD patients do not adhere to maintenance medication plans. Non-adherence is associated with an increased number of flares and increased healthcare utilization costs. Several factors, such as experiencing side effects and demographic, socioeconomic, disease-specific and psychological variables have been associated with non-adherence in IBD. Data on demographic, socioeconomic and disease-specific variables are inconsistent, while data on psychological distress, patients' beliefs about medication and discordant doctor-patient relationships are more consistently associated with non-adherence. There has been a change towards investigation of modifiable factors for non-adherence in the recent literature. Expert opinion: Currently, there is no simple and effective intervention to improve adherence to IBD maintenance medication. Anxiety, beliefs about medicines and the doctor-patient relationship are promising targets for interventions, but require further study.