Assessment of adherence to healthy lifestyle and medications among hypertensive patients in Babylon Province

Abstract

Background: Hypertension is one of the most common health problems in the world and considered as the most common risk factor for different heart diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, renal disease, and peripheral vascular diseases. Adherence to healthy lifestyle and medications plays an important role in controlling hypertension among hypertensive patients and in preventing the long-term complications of hypertension. Objectives: The study aimed to assess the adherence to healthy lifestyle and medications in controlling hypertension among hypertensive patients in Al-Hilla city, Iraq. Materials and Methods: This study was a “descriptive cross-sectional study” involving about 303 hypertensive patients who visited healthcare centers and hospitals above 18 years by a designed questionnaire through the interview method. The data were collected from April to July 2021. Results: The mean age of hypertensive patients was 54.89 ± 10.42 years, females represent 51.2%, males represent 48.8%, adherence of hypertensive patients to healthy lifestyle was 65.3%, and adherence to medications was 55.4%. There was no significant association between adherence to healthy lifestyle and medications and variables in our study (age, sex, marital status, educational level, residence, employment status, socio-economic level, duration of hypertension, family history of hypertension, and measurement of hypertension). Conclusion: In this study in Babylon Province, the highest proportions of hypertensive patients adhere to healthy lifestyle (65.3%) and medications (55.4%), and there is no significant association between adherence to healthy lifestyle and medications and variables in our study (age, sex, marital status, educational level, residence, employment status, socio-economic level, duration of hypertension, family history of hypertension, and measurement of hypertension).