Mexican American women are the least likely to take prescribed medications.
After their first stroke, many patients are prescribed medications such as blood thinners to help prevent another attack. But more women than men aren't taking their post-stroke meds, a recent analysis found -- and Mexican American women are the least likely to take prescription medications after a stroke.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, looked at how gender, ethnicity, marital status and other factors may affect stroke patients' adherence to their prescriptions. Researchers conducted the study in part because existing research is "limited and inconclusive," they write, despite its potential to help patients adhere to their meds after a stroke.
Overall, 11.5 percent of respondents reported they didn't take their prescribed medications 90 days after their stroke -- including 13 percent of women and 10.1 percent of men.
Citing a dearth of data on medication adherence among Mexican Americans, the researchers analyzed data from a Corpus Christi, Texas, project that surveyed Mexican American and non-Hispanic White participants who experienced a stroke between 2008 and 2019.
Patients were interviewed 90 days after their stroke and asked questions about their prescribed prevention medications and whether they ever missed doses. The 1,324 patients were an average of 66 years old when they had their first stroke. About 48 percent were women and 58 percent were Mexican American.
Mexican American men were three times as likely as Mexican American women to say they took their prescribed meds, perhaps reflecting the women's role as caregivers to other family members, the study says.
Older and married women reported less medication adherence than widows, who were the likeliest to report taking their medications as prescribed. The researchers speculate that widows may have a non-spouse caregiver who helps with their medication adherence. Women with obesity were less likely to take their meds, too, as were men with unhealthy lifestyles or less access to care.
"Women in general and Mexican American women in particular are more likely to be caregivers for other family members," Chen Chen, a PhD candidate in epidemiology at the University of Michigan and the study's first author, said in a news release. "As a result, they may be less able to prioritize and manage their own health, which may contribute to a higher likelihood of medication nonadherence."
The researchers note that White men are likelier to live with a caregiver, which could explain the lower prescription adherence among women and non-White patients. The study may help target future interventions, the researchers write, though more information is needed on other factors that could affect patients' ability to take their meds after a stroke.