2022 Volume 31 Issue 2 Pages 150-158
A questionnaire survey was administered to 436 members of a patient association to gather suggestions on the safety of medication for elderly patients with Parkinson’s disease in September 2017. We analyzed 248 responses (valid response rate, 56.9%). Their average age was 72.2 years. 173 (69.8%) answered that they would “not self-adjust their drugs,” while 75 (30.2%) responded that they would “self-adjust their drugs.” We compared the attributes, contents of treatment, symptoms, and medical care-obtaining behaviors of those who “do not self-adjust their drugs” and those who “self-adjust their drugs.” The average age and average age of onset were both low, the average duration of illness was long, and the average number of drugs as well as the average number of days of residual drug were long among those who answered that they did “self-adjust the drug” (p <0.05). Following binomial logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio for self-adjustment of the drug and insomnia was 3.56 (95%CI = 1.740-7.271); for off-symptoms, 2.44 (95%CI = 1.224-4.864) ; for having trouble telling a doctor, 2.85 (95%CI = 1.136-7.131) ; for not telling the doctor what he thought about the drug, 0.34 (95%CI = 0.131-0.896) ; and for wanting to reduce medication, 2.33 (95%CI = 1.045-5.174) (p <0.05). The specialty of the attending physician, satisfaction with treatment, and difficulty in dealing with the physician were not associated with the self-adjustment of the drug. For patients with insomnia and off-symptoms, optimizing their respective living environments may be just as important as receiving support for medication. Patients who have their own perception and actively participate in their treatment are at a high risk of self-adjusting their drugs. Therefore, it is suggested that medical staff should be encouraged to carefully understand each patient’s perception and commitment towards treatment.
