Abstract
BackgroundA considerable proportion of cardiovascular events could be attributed to poor adherence to antihypertensive medications. Adverse effects can be severe enough to affect adherence to antihypertensive medications. This study aimed to measure the contribution of adverse effects on antihypertensive medications adherence.MethodsThe study was conducted from May 1 to June 30, 2017, at the ambulatory clinic of University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (UOGCSH) in Gondar town. A binary logistic regression was performed to determine the significance of the association between adverse effects and adherence to antihypertensive medications. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted by administering a questionnaire to hypertensive patients who came for follow-up at the ambulatory clinic of UOGCSH. Level of adherence to antihypertensive medications was used as outcome measure.ResultsA total of 249 patients were included in the final analysis with a mean age of 56.51 years and a female majority (53%). The following variables were identified as predictors of poor adherence: tiredness [AOR (95% CI): 3.802 (1.723–8.391), p = 0.001], muscle pain [AOR (95% CI): 5.199 (1.407–19.214), p = 0.013], poor sleep [AOR (95% CI): 4.891 (1.578–15.160), p = 0.006] and, believing that the symptoms were caused by antihypertensive medications [AOR (95% CI): 3.249 (1.248–8.456), p = 0.016].ConclusionAdverse effect significantly contributes to antihypertensive medication non-adherence among hypertensive patients.
Highlights
A considerable proportion of cardiovascular events could be attributed to poor adherence to antihypertensive medications
Study setting and period The study was conducted from May 1 to June 30, 2017, at the ambulatory clinic of University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (UOGCSH) in Gondar town
Most of the study participants lived in urban areas and were married
Summary
A considerable proportion of cardiovascular events could be attributed to poor adherence to antihypertensive medications. Adverse effects can be severe enough to affect adherence to antihypertensive medications. The most important goal of antihypertensive drug treatment is to reduce renal and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality by lowering blood pressure (BP). To achieve this goal patients should be encouraged to adhere to the prescribed pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic management strategies [1]. The numbers of adverse effects reported by individual patients are of paramount importance in patients’ adherence to their antihypertensive medications [8]
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