Washington, May 11: A new study has suggested that people who are depressed are less likely to adhere to medications for their chronic health problems than patients who are not depressed, putting them at increased risk of poor health.

Researchers found that depressed patients across a wide array of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease had 76 percent greater odds of being non-adherent with their medications compared to patients who were not depressed.

"These findings provide the best evidence to date that depression is an important risk factor that may influence whether patients adhere to their medications," said Walid F. Gellad, the study''s senior author and a natural scientist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.

Researchers from RAND and the Claremont Graduate School conducted the study by examining past studies that have measured medication adherence. They combined information from 31 studies involving more than 18,000 people -- significantly more than past reviews –to examine the link between medication adherence and depression.

The link between depression and medication adherence did not vary significantly between the different chronic illnesses, said Gellad.

"The consistent link between depression and nonadherence across all these illnesses underscores the seriousness of the role that depression plays in keeping people from properly managing chronic conditions," said Jerry L. Grenard, the study''s lead author and an assistant professor at the Claremont Graduate School.

The findings were published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. (ANI)