title: Adherence to Antihypertensive Medications in Iranian Patients.
abstract: Introduction. Appropriate adherence to medication is still a challenging issue for hypertensive patients. We determined adherence to antihypertensive(s) and its associated factors among 280 Iranian patients. Methods. They were recruited consecutively from private and university health centers and pharmacies in four cities. The validated Persian version of the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) was administered to measure adherence. Results. Mean (±SD) overall MMAS-8 score was 5.75 (±1.88). About half of the sample (139 cases, 49.6%) showed low adherence (MMAS-8 score < 6). There was a negative linear association between the MMAS-8 score and systolic BP (r = -0.231, P < 0.001) as well as diastolic BP (r = -0.280, P < 0.001). In linear regression model, overweight/obesity (B = -0.52, P = 0.02), previous history of admission to emergency services due to hypertensive crisis (B = -0.79, P = 0.001), and getting medication directly from drugstore without refill prescription in hand (B = -0.51, P = 0.04) were factors recognized to have statistically significant association with the MMAS-8 score. Conclusion. Antihypertensive adherence was unsatisfactory. We suggest that health care providers pay special attention and make use of the aforementioned findings in their routine visits of hypertensive patients to recognize those who are vulnerable to poor adherence.
authors.affiliation: Islamic Azad University, Tehran Medical Branch, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Azin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Behnood-Rod
authors.affiliation: Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
authors.forename: Omid
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rabbanifar
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Pirouz
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pourzargar
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rai
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Saadat
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Habibollah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saadat
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; School of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
authors.forename: Yashar
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moharamzad
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Donald E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Morisky