[Socioeconomical status of life and regularity of intake of medicines among hypertensive patients].
As hypertension occurs very commonly in contemporary population, its complications and costs of treatment are one of the most important health and social issues. Non-compliance of the patients with respect to the intake of medicines and not-obeying medical instructions on healthy life style are said to be an important cause of hypertension treatment failures. Socioeconomic status of life has also a strong impact on the regularity of medicine intake. The goal of this article was to analyze the influence of social and economical factors on the regularity of medicine intake in hypertensive patients. The test group consisted of 222 patients (20-80 years old (x = 56.85 +/- 8.59); 123 women and 99 men, all of whom were treated in the out-patient department in the First Department of Cardiology of the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Cracow. The impact of place of living, education, professional activity, income, knowledge about the illness and the goal of hypertension treatment on the regularity of medicine intake was assessed using a specially elaborated assessment questionnaire. The patients were divided into two categories depending on their compliance and extend to which they followed doctor's recommendation concerning the need of regular medicine intake (129 persons with regular intake and 93 persons with irregular medicine intake). Within the study groups, statistically significant differences concerning analyzed parameters were observed. Regular medicine intake was more common among city citizens (64.91%), persons with secondary education (69.69%), with higher education (71.69%), with employment status (67.44%), with higher average income and regularly checking their blood pressure at home at least once per week (66.85%).


CONCLUSIONS
Socioeconomic factors have a decisive influence on following the instructions on hypertension by the patients. Special care is needed in the treatment of hypertensive patients with low socioeconomic status.
Czarnecka
Danuta
D
I Klinika Kardiologii Instytutu Kardiologii, Collegium Medicum, Uniwersytetu Jagielońskiego w Krakowie.
Pawelec
Maja
M
Kopacz
Ewa
E
Kloch
Małgorzata
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011788:Quality of Life; D012648:Self Care; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents