Abstract
Arterial hypertension (AH) is one of the most common cardiovascular diseases increasing mortality rates in Poland and worldwide. Due to its prevalence, complications and treatment costs, AH is a significant health-related, economic and social problem. The aim of this study was to assess the level of acceptance of illness and compliance with therapeutic recommendations in patients with AH. The study included 200 outpatient hypertensive patients, 85 men and 115 women aged 49.1 ± 11.6, and used the standardized acceptance of illness (AIS), the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) and author’s design questionnaires. The level of acceptance of illness was found to be as follows: higher in men than in women, unaffected by comorbidities or sociodemographic factors such as residence and professional activity, decreasing with age, and correlating negatively with the duration of antihypertensive therapy. The level of adherence and compliance did not affect the AIS score and increased with the level of education. The study population demonstrated an overall good level of acceptance of illness. Men were characterized by lower levels of adherence and compliance. Patients with AH presented a moderate level of adherence and compliance, which indicates the need for providing active education, support and extensive cooperation facilitating their conformity to therapeutic recommendations.
Highlights
Arterial hypertension (AH) is a disease of civilization
The highest mean score for disease acceptance was reported in the age group of up to 30 years
The results of the MMAS−8 questionnaire used in this study show a tendency for the level of acceptance of their illness to increase along with compliance with therapeutic recommendations, though it did not reach a statistically significant level, which may result from the size of the study population
Summary
Arterial hypertension (AH) is a disease of civilization. The number of adults with high blood pressure increased from 594 million in 1975 to 1.13 billion in 2015, mainly in low- and middle-income countries [1]. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), in the United States AH is found in 33.5% of the adult population [2]. In Poland, the results of the Multi-Center. National Population Health Survey WOBASZ II of 2014 indicate that 14 million Poles aged 19–99 suffer from AH [3]. In a recently published study involving a sample of nearly 6000 individuals, AH was observed in 35.2% of the study population over 18 years of age [4].
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