Adherence to Antihypertensive Medications in Iranian Patients

Abstract

Introduction. Appropriate adherence to medication is still a challenging issue for hypertensive patients. We determined adherence to antihypertensive(s) and its associated factors among 280 Iranian patients. Methods. They were recruited consecutively from private and university health centers and pharmacies in four cities. The validated Persian version of the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) was administered to measure adherence. Results. Mean (±SD) overall MMAS-8 score was 5.75 (±1.88). About half of the sample (139 cases, 49.6%) showed low adherence (MMAS-8 score < 6). There was a negative linear association between the MMAS-8 score and systolic BP (r = −0.231, P < 0.001) as well as diastolic BP (r = −0.280, P < 0.001). In linear regression model, overweight/obesity (B = −0.52, P = 0.02), previous history of admission to emergency services due to hypertensive crisis (B = −0.79, P = 0.001), and getting medication directly from drugstore without refill prescription in hand (B = −0.51, P = 0.04) were factors recognized to have statistically significant association with the MMAS-8 score. Conclusion. Antihypertensive adherence was unsatisfactory. We suggest that health care providers pay special attention and make use of the aforementioned findings in their routine visits of hypertensive patients to recognize those who are vulnerable to poor adherence.

A community-based study to assess the treatment adherence and its determinants among hypertensive patients residing in a rural area of Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu

“…For statistical analysis purpose, high and medium level of treatment adherence was together termed as good adherence level, whereas low adherence was termed as poor adherence level. [18,22] RESULTS Table 1 revealed that high level of treatment adherence was found among only 22 (12.9%) study participants as per the MMAS, whereas medium and low level of adherence was observed in 59 (34.7%) and 89 (52.4%) participants, respectively. It was also reported that more than half of the female study participants, 43 (55.8%) had low level of treatment adherence.…”

“…Similar results were obtained in a study done in Iran as well as in India. [22,28] Some of the studies did not find any such association. [18,23] In this study, patients indulging in regular physical activity and those practising salt-restricted diet had good compliance to therapy while alcohol and tobacco usage had no effect on adherence to treatment.…”

Factors affecting medication adherence among patients with rheumatic disorders

“…Also, "non-adherence" encompasses the diverse factors for patients not following a treatment recommendation. [9,12,17] 2. METHOD 2.1 Design An exploratory descriptive research design was used to achieve the purpose of the study.…”

“…Persian version of the MMAS-8 to be valid and reliable tool with an overall Cronbach's α coefficient of 0.697 and test-retest reliability showed good reproducibility (r = 0.940). [9] (3) The third tool was related to factors affecting drug adherence checklist as reported by WHO (2003) which include five main dimensions: (a) Social and Economic Dimension …”

“…[7,8] Non-adherence ratio is typically higher among patients with chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and depression as compared to those with acute conditions. [9,10] In 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) pointed out that adherence to therapeutic regimen is multidimensional phenomenon determined by interaction of five groups of factors; termed "dimensions". [11] The literature also showed several studies for identifying dimensions associated with non-adherence.…”