This paper describes the prevalence of allopurinol use in various population groups in a region of New Zealand, using data from all community pharmacy dispensing databases in that region over a 1-year period covering 2005/2006. Adherence was assessed using the medication possession ratio (MPR), with a MPR of 0.80 indicating suboptimal adherence. A total of 953 people received allopurinol in the study year (prevalence 3%). In multiple logistic regression analyses, the prevalence was higher in males (6%) than in females (1%) and Māori (5%) than non-Māori (3%). The overall MPR during the study was 0.88, with 161 patients (22%) using allopurinol having suboptimal adherence. Suboptimal allopurinol adherence was 46% more likely among Māori compared with non-Māori (95% CI, 0.30 to 0.72; p=0.001).
