title: Is interview a reliable method to verify the compliance with antihypertensive therapy? An international central-European study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Non-compliance with prescribed antihypertensive medication is an important contributor to the failure of antihypertensive therapy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the validity of a short questionnaire in the identification of non-compliant patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  In three central-European countries, work-site screening for hypertension was conducted. Blood pressure was measured using an automatic electronic blood pressure measuring device (BpTRU). Respondents were interviewed by trained personnel and a short questionnaire focused on blood pressure awareness and treatment compliance was completed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 2812 persons were screened: 841(29.9%) respondents were hypertensive, and out of these the total number of treated hypertensive subjects was 359 (42.6%). Mean systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were significantly lower in the compliant group than the non-compliant group (systolic blood pressure, 139.4 and 146.2 mmHg, respectively, P = 0.002; and diastolic blood pressure, 89.2 and 92.3 mmHg, respectively, P < 0.01). The non-compliant group was younger than the compliant group (mean age, 46.7 versus 48.9 years, respectively, P = 0.01). Females, patients on combined therapy and non-smokers were more compliant than males, those on mono-therapy and smokers (P = 0.01, P = 0.004 and P = 0.005, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients reporting strict compliance with prescribed drug therapy have significantly lower systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure than those who admit even an occasional lapse in taking medication. A properly formulated questionnaire can identify non-compliant patients.
authors.affiliation: Prevention and Rehabilitation Centre, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. gfodor@ottawaheart.ca
authors.forename: George J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Fodor
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kotrec
authors.forename: Kinga
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bacskai
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dorner
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lietava
authors.forename: Sandor
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sonkodi
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rieder
authors.forename: Penelope
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Turton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001317:Austria; D001794:Blood Pressure; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018154:Slovakia; D012907:Smoking; D017132:Workplace
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents