New drugs for diseases and disorders are being developed at an accelerating pace. Pharmaceutical innovations have been found to enhance the overall well-being of the population, but not everyone has equal access to medication.
This can be concluded from a recent study carried out at the University of Eastern Finland, which examined the onset of memantine medication for the treatment of memory disorders among people from different socio-economic groups. The study was based on extensive register data. Project Researcher Mervi Rantsi’s findings showed that glutamate antagonist memantine therapy for inducing brain activation was started earlier than average on patients in the upper income bracket.
“Based on the study, memantine medication was also started earlier on older patients and patients taking multiple drugs. The study also showed that memantine therapy was started later than average on people who live alone,” says Rantsi.
Memory disorders are treated with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEi) and memantine, which was first introduced to the market in 2003. The study focused on examining whether there is a connection between the socio-economic status of patients with a memory disorder using AChEi and the onset of memantine therapy.
More understanding is needed on unequal access to pharmaceutical innovations among different socio-economic groups.
Mervi Rantsi
Tutkija
The data used in the study was collected from the prescription files of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Kela, the systems for submitting care notifications maintained by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, and the registers of Statistics Finland. The data comprised nearly 65,000 people who had turned 65 in or before 2000 and were living at home.
According to the study, between 2000 and 2013, over 9,000 people started using medication for a memory disorder. Of those people, 2,881 started using memantine. The income level of 30.9 per cent of the people who started using medication was in the lowest quartile.
Research data on the subject is sparse
At present, not much register-based research data on the connection between socio-economic status and the use of medication for a memory disorder is available in Finland. The international research carried out on the subject is also sparse. A study conducted in the UK found that the probability of starting medication for a memory disorder was 25 per cent higher for patients in the upper-income bracket than for patients in the lower-income bracket.
“The reason for not paying more attention to the differences between socio-economic groups may be the relatively fast pace of development in pharmaceutical research and the overall well-being in society being enhanced through pharmaceutical innovations.
The current number of people with a memory disorder in Finland is more than 190,000, increasing by approximately 14,500 each year. Rantsi points out that all these people must be provided with the health services they need regardless of their socio-economic status, financial position, or residential area.
“It is important to understand why access to pharmaceutical innovations is unequal among different socio-economic groups. The targets for further research should include identifying which factors have a negative or positive impact on equal access to innovative drugs.
The information will improve the opportunities to enable equal access to health services.
Mervi Rantsi is currently working on her dissertation in health economics, examining how the research knowledge on potentially inappropriate medications among older people with a memory disorder is implemented in practice in the health care sector.