Medication adherence and health empowerment in gout: a cross-sectional survey of patients.

Gout is a prevalent chronic metabolic disorder that significantly impairs the quality of life of affected individuals. Enhancing medication adherence among gout patients is crucial for optimizing clinical outcomes. The present study aims to investigate the levels of health empowerment and medication adherence among gout patients and to identify the factors influencing these outcomes. This study recruited gout patients who presented to our hospital between April 2024 and January 2025. Medication adherence and health empowerment were assessed using validated scales. Logistic regression analysis was employed to identify independent risk factors associated with poor medication adherence. A total of 364 gout patients were included in the study. The mean health empowerment score among gout patients was 24.06 ± 5.22. Correlation analysis revealed significant associations between medication adherence and several variables, including residence, per capita monthly income, duration of gout, number of gout flares in the past year, and health empowerment level. Residence (OR = 2.812, 95% CI: 2.180 ~ 3.445), per capita monthly income (OR = 1.935, 95% CI: 1.006 ~ 2.482), duration of gout (OR = 1.823, 95% CI: 1.311 ~ 2.246), number of gout flares in the past year (OR = 2.412, 95% CI: 1.856 ~ 3.205), and health empowerment level (OR = 3.547, 95% CI: 2.664 ~ 4.862) were significant influencing factors of medication adherence in gout patients. The findings indicate that both medication adherence and health empowerment levels are suboptimal among gout patients. These results highlight the importance of prioritizing health empowerment education and improving medication adherence in clinical practice.