Drug adherence is poor in women with urinary trouble

摘要

A recent study by researchers from Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Jersey, USA, suggest that women who are prescribed anticholinergic drugs for the treatment of urinary incontinence and other lower urinary tract symptoms are likely to stop taking their medicine soon after starting it.Dr Manish and his colleagues from Saint Peters describe why their results are significant. "Our high discontinuation rates across all anticholinergic drug classes ... highlight the need for more effective therapies for lower urinary tract symptoms."The authors used a large database to analyze 29,369 women who were aged 18 years and upwards, and had been prescribed anticholinergic medication between 1991 and 2005. A total of nine different drugs were analyzed during the study, including oxybutynin and toltero-dine, two commonly prescribed drugs for urinary incontinence.