THE PREVALENCE OF DRUG-RELATED ADVERSE REACTIONS AMONG HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS

Abstract

Objective: Drug-related side effects are one of the main causes of patients non-adherence to antihypertensive treatment. Therapeutic challenge concerns mainly patients with multiple drug intolerance syndrome, defined as history of side effects after three or more classes of medications. The aim of the current study was to assess the prevalence of drug-related adverse events in hypertensive patients. Design and method: We recruited for the study regular patients followed at the Outpatient Hypertensive Clinic. The standardized questionnaire was administered, comprising of 23 questions, inquiring about patient medical history including drug related side effects. Patient's answers were adjudicated against archived medical history. Database management a statistical analyses were provided using STATISTICA 13.1. Results: The study group included 600 patients (57,66 % women, age = 64 (54–71) years, BMI = 26,7 (24,2–30,5) kg/m2; 42,33% men, age = 60 (49–68) years, BMI = 27,5 (24,7–30,9) kg/m2). Of all patients, 184 (30,67%) reported experiencing drug-related side effect(s) anytime in their life. 56 patients (9,33%) complained of side effects of 2 drug classes, and 24 patients (4,00%) reported side effects from three or more drug classes, fulfilling the definition of the Multiple Drug Intolerance Syndrome (MDIS). Patients with a history of drug-related adverse events as compared to patients never reporting them were more often women (68 % vs 32 %, p = 0,001). No difference was observed between the groups in terms of age (64 (51–71) vs 62 (52–69) years old, p = 0,370) or BMI (26,7 (24,3–30,4) vs 27,3 (24,4–3,1, p = 0,359). Patients with MDIS were older (65 (54–72 vs 59 (50–67 years old, p = 0,018) and more often women (70% vs 30 %, p = 0,001) as compared to patients without MDIS. Conclusions: History of drug-related side effects is common among hypertensive patients and concerns one-third of outpatients. Women report drug-related side effect more often then men. Four percent of hypertensive patients fulfills the definition of the multiple drug intolerance syndrome. Older age and female sex are determinants of multiple drug intolerance syndrome in hypertensive patients.