Drug Attitude and Adherence to Anti-Glaucoma Medication

PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to assess patient attitudes towards anti-glaucoma medication and their association with adherence, visual quality of life, and personality traits. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred and forty-seven glaucoma patients were enrolled this study. The participants were divided into 'pharmacophobic' and 'pharmacophilic' groups according to their scores on the Modified Glaucoma Drug Attitude Inventory (MG-DAI). To establish a correlation with patient drug attitude, each group had their subjective drug adherence, visual quality of life, and personality traits examined. For personality traits, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was used to sub-classify each group. RESULTS Among the patients analyzed, 91 (72.80%) patients showed a 'pharmacophobic' attitude and 34 (27.20%) patients showed a 'pharmacophilic' attitude. The pharmacophobic group tended to have worse adherence than the pharmacophilic group. Personality dichotomies from the MBTI also showed different patterns for each group. CONCLUSION In glaucoma patients, pharmacological adherence was influenced by their attitude towards drugs; an association might exist between drug attitude and underlying personality traits.