LONDON (Reuters) – People who follow doctor’s orders and take their medicines regularly are more likely to live longer lives than other patients — even if the medicines are placebos.
About one in four people prescribed drugs do not take them as they should. Patients may disagree with the prescription, or don’t think it is helping them or the medicine could be producing an unpleasant side effect.
In an analysis of 21 studies involving more than 46,000 people, Canadian scientists found those who took their drugs as prescribed — even if the drugs were placebos or dummy pills given as part of a study — did better than those who didn’t.
“In the studies that we included in our study, if people followed their medications regularly they lived longer. They had a less likely chance of dying,” said Dr Scot Simpson, of the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada.
The scientists, who reported the findings in the British Medical Journal, believe that people who adhere to treatment regimens are more likely to have a healthier lifestyle in general.
“If you are using a medication regularly than you are likely following other healthy lifestyle recommendations like eating a healthy diet, exercising, getting regular checkups,” Simpson said.
He suggested that taking medication regularly could be a type of surrogate marker, or indicator, that in general the patient has a healthy lifestyle.
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