title: Short Form (SF-36) Health Survey measures are associated with decreased adherence among urban African Americans with severe, poorly controlled hypertension.
abstract: The objective of this study was to determine whether an association exists between Short Form (SF-36) Health Survey measures and nonadherence among urban African Americans with poorly controlled hypertension. A total of 158 African Americans were admitted to an urban academic hospital for severe, uncontrolled hypertension. The main outcome measure was self-reported nonadherence to antihypertensive medications using a validated instrument. For every 10-point increase in Physical Component Summary (PCS) score, an individual was almost two times more likely to report being nonadherent (odds ratio, 1.94; 95% confidence interval, 1.30-2.90; P<.01). A significant interaction (P=.05) was observed between the physical functioning and mental health subscales. Individuals with high physical functioning and low mental health scores displayed the lowest adherence rate. These results suggest that high physical functioning, especially if associated with poor mental health, increases the likelihood of nonadherence to antihypertensive regimens among urban African Americans. The SF-36 may serve as an effective clinical tool that identifies patients at risk for nonadherence and, more importantly, may improve clinicians' understanding of nonadherence, allowing for discussions about antihypertensive medications to be tailored to individual patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. mkonerm1@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Konerman
authors.forename: Kristina R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Weeks
authors.forename: Jamille R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Shands
authors.forename: Jon C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Tilburt
authors.forename: Sydney
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dy
authors.forename: Lee R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Bone
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: J Hunter
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000208:ethnology*; D057566:Self Report; D012923:Social Class; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents