Some patients tire of drug therapies

More than a third of patients given drugs to combat high blood pressure and control cholesterol stopped taking them after six months, a study says.

The heaviest falloff was among patients who were already taking a number of prescription drugs, perhaps reflecting the complicated task of managing several drugs at once, the study said.

On the other hand, patients who started hypertension and fat-lowering drugs at, or near, the same time were more likely to continue taking both, than when there was a longer gap separating the beginning of the two therapies, the study added.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, was based on insurance company medical records.