title: The association between self-perceptions of aging and antihypertensive medication adherence in older Chinese adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Approximately one billion adults worldwide are hypertensive and most aged 60 or above. Poor adherence with medication treatment is still one of the main causes of failure in achieving blood pressure control. Compared to younger individuals, aging perception may be the main factor influencing elders receiving preventive care. Some studies have investigated the impact of self-perceptions of aging on some preventive health behaviors including "followed the directions for taking prescription medications" in developed countries in the West. However, there is a scarcity of studies evaluating the self-perceptions of aging and its association with antihypertensive adherence among Chinese older adults.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to identify the association between aging perceptions and antihypertensive drug adherence among Chinese older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional investigation was conducted in wards and outpatient clinic of a University Hospital and communities in Suzhou, China. Older adults who were taking at least one antihypertensive drug currently were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire, including basic socio-demographic and clinical information, self-reported medication adherence and self-perceptions of aging.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From 585 old patients, 34.2 % was determined to have good medication adherence. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that good adherence to antihypertensive agents was more common among those with lower scores on "timeline cyclical" (p = 0.004) and "identity" (p < 0.001) dimensions, and higher scores on "control positive" (p = 0.004) dimension of aging perceptions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-perceptions of aging, being significantly associated with medication adherence, are an important starting point when conducting intervention programmes for elder patients.
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University/School of Nursing, Soochow University, No. 188 Shizi Street, Suzhou, 215006, China.
authors.forename: Yunying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Department of Vasculocardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
authors.forename: Dandan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Vasculocardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Vasculocardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yunjuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University/School of Nursing, Soochow University, No. 188 Shizi Street, Suzhou, 215006, China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Vasculocardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University/School of Nursing, Soochow University, No. 188 Shizi Street, Suzhou, 215006, China. sxwang2001@163.com.
authors.forename: Xiaohua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016903:Drug Monitoring
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents
keywords: Hypertension; Medication adherence; Self-perceptions of aging