Table 4.

Predictors of monotherapy chelation adherence in adults and adolescents^a

Predictors of deferoxamine (DFO infusion) adherence	Slope (SE)	p-value
Problems preparingb	−3.54 (1.40)	0.013
Problems with side effectsb	−2.10 (0.73)	0.004
Number of days per week	−2.36 (0.90)	0.009
Smoking in the past year	−11.70 (2.92)	<0.001
Predictors of oral deferasirox adherence	Slope (SE)	p-value
Age	0.14 (0.05)	0.004
Problems with side effectsb	−1.06 (0.39)	0.007
Smoking in the past year	−2.74 (1.37)	0.046
QOL physical component summaryc	0.15 (0.06)	0.018

^apredictors significant in bivariate analysis, controlling for age, at level 0.10 were entered into a multivariate analysis of covariance model with backwards elimination. For deferoxamine infusion adherence, predictors significant in bivariate analysis were gender, problems preparing their DFO, problems sticking themselves, problems wearing their pump, problems with side effects, number of days per week of deferoxamine use, smoking in the past year (yes/no), consumption of five or more alcoholic drinks in a single day in the last year (yes/no), SF-36 quality of life (QOL) mental component summary, and depression. For oral deferasirox adherence, predictors significant in bivariate analysis were age (quadratic effect), number of transfusions in the last year, problems with side effects, smoking in the past year (yes/no), bodily pain, SF-36 QOL physical and mental component summaries, anxiety, and depression.

^bproblems measured on a 1–5 scale: never through a lot. Higher numbers indicate more problems.

^cHigher score indicates increased quality of life.

Abbreviations: SE=standard error