Navin Kumar Devaraj
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Primary Health Care
Background & Aim: Dyslipidemia remains a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, the adherence to lipid lowering therapy is often affected by itsā?? side effects and use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). This study aims to find out about the usage of CAM in patients with dyslipidemia and its association with adherence to lipid lowering therapy. Method: A cross-sectional survey was carried out using face and content validated questionnaire among patients aged 18 years and above with dyslipidemia and on lipid lowering therapy for at least one year. Adherence was assessed using the validated Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8. Result: 116 respondents (29.1%) use CAM to lower their lipid level. The most common CAM used among them is fish oil (74%), followed by garlic and apple cider vinegar at 40% and 37% respectively. Majority of respondents with low adherence (85.7%) used CAM to help lower their blood lipid levels. The association between level of adherence and using CAM was statistically significant (p<0.05). Factors significantly associated with CAM usage (p<0.05) include female gender, higher household income, higher educational level and presence of concurrent medical illness. Conclusion: CAM usage is high among patients with low adherence. Factors identified to increased CAM usage should be tackled during consultation to increase adherence to evidence-based drug therapy.
E-mail: knavin@upm.edu.my
