Association of medication adherence with workplace productivity and health-related quality of life in patients with asthma

Objective. Examine the association of medication adherence with workplace productivity and health-related quality of life (HRQL) in asthma patients. Methods. Adult patients with asthma in a state health insurance program identified from medical claims (July 2001-June 2003) were mailed a three-part survey to measure HRQL (St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire), workplace productivity (Workplace Productivity Short Inventory), and self-reported medication adherence (Morisky Scale). Results. The symptoms domain had the worst HRQL scores, followed by the activity and impacts domains; 39% of the participants reported themselves as "high" adherent, whereas 19% were "medium," and 42% were "low" adherent. Asthma resulted in productivity losses of $597 ± $1,024 (absenteeism) and $658 ± $1,808 (presenteeism) per enrollee per year. Conclusions. Asthma was associated with HRQL detriments and workplace productivity losses.