Self-reported Antenatal Adherence to medical treatment among Pregnant Women with Crohn's Disease

Mette Julsgaard Nielsen (1) , Mette Nørgaard (2) , Peter Holland-Fischer (1) , Lisbet Ambrosius Christensen (1)

1 Department of Medicine V
2 Department of Epidemiology

BACKGROUND: Adherence to medical treatment among women with Crohn's disease (CD) prior to and during pregnancy has never been investigated. METHODS: A total of 132 women with CD who had given birth during 2000-2005 were drawn from a study population of 1.6 million inhabitants. Questionnaires were used to investigate predictors and extent of adherence. The validity of self-reported use of medication was assessed using data from the Danish Prescription Database. We used logistic regression to estimate prevalence odds ratios for non-adherence according to smoking status and other predictors. RESULTS: 80% returned the questionnaire. A total of 58 (54%) women reported to have been in medical treatment, 50 of whom had fulfilled a prescription on relevant medication. Adherence to medical treatment was 72%. Fear of a negative effect on fertility/fetus was a reason for non-adherence by 18.8% prior to and 45.5% during pregnancy. Among smokers, 30.8% were non-adherent compared with 11.5% among non-smokers (prevalence odds ratio 3.41, 95% CI 0.8-14.7). CONCLUSION: Despite fear of a negative effect on fertility/the fetus, adherence to medical treatment was high in women with CD. We observed no substantial variation in adherence prior to and during pregnancy. Smoking prior to pregnancy was a predictor of non-adherence.

Mots clés: Medicine

Mette Julsgaard Nielsen, Mette Nørgaard, Peter Holland-Fischer, Lisbet Ambrosius Christensen. Self-reported Antenatal Adherence to medical treatment among Pregnant Women with Crohn's Disease. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2010, ⟨10.1111/j.1365-2036.2010.04318.x⟩. ⟨hal-00552556⟩