Publication:

Assessment of adherence to antihypertensive medication and its associated factors: a cross-sectional study

Background Hypertension is a silent killer. India is home to approximately 220 million hypertensive individuals. Poor adherence to medication may lead to complications and add to the burden of disease. So, this study aims to assess medication adherence and its associated factors.

Methods This hospital based cross sectional study was conducted at Urban Health Training center. Patients who attended Out Patient Department over the period of three months were enrolled in the study. Morisky Medication Adherence four-point scale (MMAS-4) was used to study compliance, while JAMOVI software was used for data analysis.

Results Around half (45%) of the patients had high adherence to anti-hypertensive medication. Various sociodemographic factors like age, gender, education, occupation, family history, personal history and duration of hypertension were considered. A significant association was observed between age and duration with adherence.

Conclusions There was significant association between age and poor adherence. Timely interventions are necessary to reinforce good compliance to antihypertensive drugs.