Correlation Between Efficacy of Treatment with Anti-psychotics and Adherence in Schizophrenic Patients: A Cross-sectional Study in Saudi Arabia

Background: Schizophrenic patients’ adherence to medication regimens can determine clinical outcome success. This study focuses on medication adherence and its correlation with the efficacy of anti-psychotics. The study's goal is to (1) assess the efficacy of anti-psychotics and adherence using the Self-evaluation of Negative Symptoms (SNS) tool and Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS), and (2) examine the demographic and clinical factors that could impact both outcomes (SNS and MARS). Materials and Methods: Between November 2021 and February 2022, a cross-sectional study was carried out. Only 45 of 100 schizophrenia patients screened were included in the sample. MARS and SNS self-assessment questionnaires that took approximately 15 min to complete were administered to patients in a scheduled clinic interview. Other patients’ demographic, physical, and clinical information was gathered from their electronic medical records via a Redcap designed data collection sheet. Results: Almost 53.3% of the current schizophrenic patients had perceived mild negative symptoms (scored 1 to <20 out of 40 on SNS). Surprisingly, 64.4% were either poor adherent (n=13 scored 5 to 6) or non-adherent (n=16 scored <5). There was a notable negative correlation between the total MARS score and both total SNS (r = -0.325, p=0.03) and social withdrawal scores (r = -0.436, p=0.003). Non-adherence was significantly associated with lower education levels (p=0.028) and unemployment (p=0.008), whereas SNS total score and anhedonia were both markedly associated with different marital status (p=0.046, and p=0.016, respectively). Conclusion: According to the study, medication schizophrenia nonadherence correlates negatively with the efficacy of anti-psychotics as perceived by patients, which reflects patient quality and perception of life. These findings strongly emphasize the importance of developing adherence interventions to enhance compliance with anti-psychotic regimens and improve patients’ perceived self-evaluation of negative symptoms.