Lim Hooi Min, Ng Chirk Jenn, Abdullah Adina, Danee Mahmoud, Raubenheimer Jacques, Dunn Adam G
Department of Primary Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Department of Research, SingHealth Polyclinics, Singapore, Singapore.
Digit Health. 2024 Mar 21;10:20552076241241250. doi: 10.1177/20552076241241250. eCollection 2024 Jan-Dec.
Statins are effective for preventing cardiovascular disease. However, many patients decide not to take statins because of negative influences, such as online misinformation. Online health information may affect decisions on medication adherence, but measuring it is challenging. This study aimed to examine the associations between online health information behaviour and statin adherence in patients with high cardiovascular risk.
A prospective cohort study involving 233 patients with high cardiovascular risk was conducted at a primary care clinic in Malaysia. Participants used a digital information diary tool to record online health information they encountered for 2 months and completed a questionnaire about statin necessity, concerns and adherence at the end of the observation period. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling.
The results showed that 55.8% (130 of 233 patients) encountered online health information. Patients who actively sought online health information (91 of 233 patients) had higher concerns about statin use ( = 0.323, = 0.023). Participants with higher concern about statin use were also more likely to be non-adherent ( = -0.337, < 0.001). Patients who actively sought online health information were more likely to have lower statin adherence, mediated by higher concerns about statin use (indirect effect, = -0.109, = 0.048).
Our results suggest that patients with higher levels of concern about statins may be actively seeking online information about statins, and their concerns might influence how they search, what they find, and the potential to encounter misinformation. Our study highlights the importance of addressing patients' concerns about medications to improve adherence.
他汀类药物对预防心血管疾病有效。然而，许多患者因网络错误信息等负面影响而决定不服用他汀类药物。在线健康信息可能会影响药物依从性的决策，但对其进行衡量具有挑战性。本研究旨在探讨心血管疾病高风险患者的在线健康信息行为与他汀类药物依从性之间的关联。
在马来西亚的一家初级保健诊所进行了一项前瞻性队列研究，纳入233例心血管疾病高风险患者。参与者使用数字信息日记工具记录他们在2个月内遇到的在线健康信息，并在观察期结束时完成一份关于他汀类药物必要性、担忧和依从性的问卷。采用结构方程模型对数据进行分析。
结果显示，55.8%（233例患者中的130例）遇到过在线健康信息。积极寻求在线健康信息的患者（233例患者中的91例）对他汀类药物使用的担忧更高（β = 0.323，P = 0.023）。对他汀类药物使用担忧较高的参与者也更有可能不依从（β = -0.337，P < 0.001）。积极寻求在线健康信息的患者更有可能有较低的他汀类药物依从性，这是由对他汀类药物使用的更高担忧介导的（间接效应，β = -0.109，P = 0.048）。
我们的结果表明，对他汀类药物担忧程度较高的患者可能会积极寻求关于他汀类药物的在线信息，而他们的担忧可能会影响他们的搜索方式、所找到的内容以及遇到错误信息的可能性。我们的研究强调了解决患者对药物的担忧以提高依从性的重要性。
