title: [Factors involved in the hypertensive patient non-compliance with treatment].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is impossible to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy in hypertension without knowing the compliance of the treatment. The lack of compliance does not allow therapeutic efficacy to be achieved. This study evaluates possible factors involved in the non compliance of treatment in hypertensive patients and the characteristics defining the non compliant patient.
  
  
  METHODS
  The control technique was tablet counting. The study was carried out in 157 hypertensive patients belonging to the Centro de Carrús (Elche-Alicante, Spain).
  
  
  RESULTS
  53.3% of the sample were shown to follow the therapy. 45.2% of patients not fulfilling the treatment believed that they were doing it correctly. Non compliance was found to be associated to the following factors: hypertensive patients of older age (p = 0.0054), low cultural level (p = 0.0027), bad knowledge of the disease (p = 0.0166), recent or lengthy knowledge of the disease (p = 0.00677), presence of other associated chronic diseases (p = 0.003), bad control of blood pressure (p = 0.0108), receiving more than two drugs for treatment (p = 0.0071), carrying out more than two medication intakes per day (p = 0.00309), saying that the diet is not well followed (p = 0.0187) and performing other associated pharmacologic treatments (p = 0.0024).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Non compliance is a very frequent fact in patients with hypertension. Knowledge and evaluation of the factors involved in non compliance allows identification and intervention in patients who do not take the medication.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina, Universidad de Alicante.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Belda
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Soriano
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Merino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016312:Treatment Refusal
vernacular_title: Estudio de los factores implicados en la no observancia terapéutica de pacientes hipertensos.