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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> At the end of the three-year study, 10 percent of participants said they had cut back on drugs because they were too expensive. Of these, 11.9 percent suffered chest pain, compared to 8.2 percent of those who hadn't cut back. Also, 7.8 percent of those who had reined in drug use suffered a nonfatal heart attack by the end of the study, compared to 5.3 percent of those who had not reduced.
Participants 72 years and older who suffered from depression at the beginning of the study and who curbed their medication were 16 percent more likely to experience a worsening of their depression.
Overall, 32.1 percent of those who reported that they were in good health or better at the beginning of the study, but had curtailed their drug use, characterized their health as fair or poor at the study's end. Only 21.2 percent of those who did not cut back said they had experienced a decline.
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The declines were not across the board. People who cut back on arthritis medication did not experience worsening pain or physical limitations, possibly because they substituted over-the-counter medications. Also, diabetics did not have higher rates of new proteinuria or kidney disease, but these may need more time to show up.
People who cut back tended disproportionately to be uninsured or have health insurance that didn't cover prescription drugs. This finding may help explain why poorer people tend to have worse health outcomes.
The addition last month of prescription drug benefits for Medicare patients may help a little, but it will take a while to see how much, the authors stated.
The results of the new research present a good argument for stratifying risk, meaning providing extra coverage for people who have preexisting chronic conditions, said Dr. Michele Heisler, lead author of the study, a research scientist at the Veterans Administration, and a lecturer at the University of Michigan Medical School.
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