Table 2.
Reasons cited by patients who were not taking the recommended medications, by age group
| Reasons | 65 years of age and older | Younger than 65 years | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aspirin | Statin | Beta-blocker | ACEI/ARB | Aspirin | Statin | Beta-blocker | ACEI/ARB | |
| n (%) | ||||||||
| Too expensive | 11 (7.0) | 18 (10.9) | 10 (6.0) | 9 (6.1) | 21 (12.5) | 71 (37.8) | 40 (23) | 49 (29.0) |
| Too many medications | 77 (48.7) | 47 (28.5) | 68 (40.5) | 58 (39.2) | 30 (17.9) | 18 (9.6) | 19 (10.9) | 15 (8.9) |
| Consider medications non-essential | 32 (20.3) | 60 (36.4) | 55 (32.7) | 56 (37.8) | 28 (16.7) | 10 (5.3) | 22 (12.6) | 13 (7.7) |
| Afraid of adverse effects | 13 (8.2) | 17 (10.3) | 13 (7.7) | 11 (7.4) | 53 (31.5) | 63 (33.5) | 65 (37.4) | 73 (43.2) |
| Side effects | 16 (10.1) | 14 (8.5) | 15 (8.9) | 8 (5.4) | 16 (9.5) | 16 (8.5) | 20 (11.5) | 12 (7.1) |
| Others | 9 (5.7) | 9 (5.5) | 7 (4.2) | 6 (4.1) | 20 (11.9) | 10 (5.3) | 8 (4.6) | 7 (4.1) |
ACEI, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor; ARB, angiotensin receptor blocker.