1 Springer Indian J Gastroenterol 2009(July–August):28(4):143–146 Abstract Introduction Non-adherence to medical therapy is emerging as an important determinant of relapse in patients with in- flammatory bowel disease (IBD). Aim To find the prevalence of and reasons for non- adherence to medical therapy in Indian patients with IBD and its correlation with disease outcome. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we checked for adherence to treatment in 127 patients with IBD (117 ul- cerative colitis and 10 Crohn’s disease) using a questionnaire that inquired into frequency of missed doses, causes for missed doses, and its relation to relapse of disease. Results Of the 127 patients (mean age 42.8 years; 68 women), 103 (81%) were non-adherent to treatment, defined as taking 80% or less of the dose advised. The reasons for non-adherence (not mutually exclusive) were: forgetfulness– 98 patients (77%), felt better–18 (14.2 %), high frequency of doses–13 (10.1%), no effect of medications–10 (7.87%), non-availability of medications–3 (2.3%). Non-adherent patients were three times more likely to develop a relapse as compared to those with adherence (OR 3.389, 95% CI 1.29–8.88, p=0.012). Conclusions Over 80% of patients with IBD in this survey were non-adherent to medical treatment; forgetfulness was mentioned as the most common cause. Non-adherent patients were more likely to relapse. Patients need to be educated regarding the need for adherence to treatment in IBD. Keywords Crohn’s disease · glucocorticoids · immunosup- pressive agents · mesalamine · ulcerative colitis Introduction Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), especially those with ulcerative colitis, require lifelong medications, with frequent dosing and sometimes inconvenient modes of administration like enemas and infusions, and undesirable side effects. Non-adherence to treatment is being increas- ingly recognized as an important determinant of the occurrence of relapse. 1 The reasons for non-adherence are multiple and can be divided into voluntary and involuntary; 2 they include patient-, disease- and treatment-related factors. 1,2 There is no systematic study on drug adherence in patients with IBD from India. We aimed to determine the degree of adherence to medications in patients with IBD, the reasons for non- adherence, and its effect on course of the disease. Methods Consecutive patients with histologically confirmed diagnosis of IBD presenting to this center on an outpatient as well as inpatient basis between August 2007 and June 2008 were included in the study. Newly diagnosed patients (diagnosed within the past 6 months) and those unable to answer the questionnaire were excluded. A pro forma questionnaire was devised to obtain demographic, clinical, and labo- ratory data. The patients completed the pro forma either in person or by telephonic interview. The questionnaire re- quired information (based on recall from previous 2 weeks) on regularity in intake of medication, frequency of missed medication, percentage of dose missed, and reasons for non-adherence. Non-adherence to treatment was defined as medication intake of <80% of the dose advised. 1 The pa- tients recall over previous 2 weeks was used to calculate non-adherence. Indian J Gastroenterol 2009(July–August):28(4):143–146 DOI: 10.1007/s12664-009-0050-z ORIGINAL ARTICLE Self-reported treatment adherence in inflammatory bowel disease in Indian patients Jay Bhatt · Samir Patil · Anand Joshi · Philip Abraham · Devendra Desai J. Bhatt · S. Patil · A. Joshi · P. Abraham · D. Desai Division of Gastroenterology, P D Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Center, Mahim, Mumbai 400 016, India D. Desai () e-mail: devendracdesai@gmail.com Received: 25 February 2009 / Revised: 24 March 2009 / Accepted: 26 May 2009 © Indian Society of Gastroenterology 2009