Hypertension in the Lebanese adults: Impact on health related quality of life

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, hypertension being one of their most prevalent risk factors. Information on health related quality of life (QOL) of hypertensive individuals in Lebanon is lacking. Our objectives were to evaluate QOL of hypertensive patients compared with non-hypertensive subjects and to suggest possible predictors of QOL in Lebanon. We conducted a case control study among individuals visiting outpatient clinics. Quality of life was assessed using the eight item (SF-8) questionnaire administered face to face to the study population, applied to hypertensive (N=224) and non-hypertensive control (N=448) groups. Hypertensive patients presented lower QOL scores in all domains, particularly in case of high administration frequency and occurrence of drug related side effects. Among hypertensive patients, QOL was significantly decreased with the presence of comorbidities (β=-13.865, p=0.054), daily frequency of antihypertensive medications (β=-8.196, p<0.001), presence of drug side-effects (β=-19.262, p=0.031), older age (β=-0.548, p<0.001), female gender (β=-21.363, p=0.05), lower education (β=-22.949, p=0.006), and cigarettes smoked daily (β=-0.726, p<0.001); regular sport activity (β=23.15, p<0.001) significantly increased quality of life. These findings indicate the necessity for health professionals to take these factors into account when treating hypertensive patients, and to tackle special subgroups with attention to their deteriorated QOL.

Quality of Life Among Hypertensive Patients Attending Primary Healthcare Centers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

“…In contrast with other studies (12,14,18) that found female patients more prone to impaired QOL, we found no gender discrepancy in any of the 4 QOL domains. Concordantly, a Brazilian study by Melchiors et al reported no difference between genders in the 4 QOL domains (17).…”

“…Furthermore, employed professional status showed the highest score in physical, psychological and environmental health domains. These observations are consistent with findings from a Lebanese study by Khalifeh et al, reporting negative relationship of QOL with age and positive relationship with educational level (14). Similarly, Vietnamese study showed that high education level and employed professional status were significantly associated with better QOL in the 4 domains; whilenormal-to-high economic status showed higher but not statistically significant scores than poor economic one (12).…”

“…The average ratings of overall QOL and health satisfaction were neutral to good (scores=3.42/5 and 3.04/5, respectively), indicating relative impaired QOL in hypertensive patients. Comparative studies demonstratedthe impact of hypertension on patients' QOL as compared to random population (13)(14)(15)(16).…”

Depressão E Qualidade De Vida Em Adultos Com Hipertensão

“…Estudos mostram que, em pessoas com hipertensão, a QV pode ser influenciada por aspectos como a idade, estado civil, escolaridade, situação empregatícia, apoio social, tempo de diagnóstico, número de medicamentos e a presença de comorbidades, como a ansiedade e a depressão (4,(6)(7)(8)(9) .…”

“…A depressão geralmente associa-se a menores pontuações nas avaliações de QV de pessoas com hipertensão, o que se deve principalmente ao seu efeito negativo sobre o humor e possivelmente na capacidade funcional (4,9) . Desta forma, investigar a relação entre a depressão e a QV em pessoas com hipertensão, objetivo desta pesquisa, pode trazer benefícios consideráveis para a tomada de decisão do enfermeiro e demais profissionais de saúde durante a elaboração de um plano de cuidados, tendo em vista a influência destes fatores no seguimento da terapêutica e no desenvolvimento de complicações.…”