Medication Adherence and the Occurrence of Complications in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Hypertension.
OBJECTIVE
In this retrospective cohort study, we sought to elucidate the relationship between medication adherence (MA) and the incidence of complications in patients with newly diagnosed hypertension.


METHODS
Using claims data from the National Health Insurance Service, we measured health outcomes based on levels of MA, analyzed the incidence of complications in patients with a good MA, and clarified factors that may affect or predict MA.


RESULTS
In 2008, a total of 4294773 patients were diagnosed with hypertension and were subsequently prescribed anti-hypertensive medications. In the present study, we enrolled 564782 patients who met our inclusion/exclusion criteria. The 40-59% medication possession ratio (MPR) group had a 1.36 times higher risk of developing complications (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.27-1.45) than did the MPR≥ 80% group, as revealed through Cox's proportional hazards analysis. Similarly, the <20% MPR group was 2.01 times more likely to develop complications than the good MA group (95% CI: 1.82-2.23). Overall, patients who had a lower level of MA had a higher risk of developing complications.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results demonstrate that MA is tightly correlated with hypertension health outcomes. Improving MA could be one strategy for reducing the risk of cerebrovascular disease complications and the loss of productivity in these patients.
Department of Rehabilitation Standard & Policy, Korea National Rehabilitation Research Institute, Seoul, Korea .
Hyun-Jin
HJ
Kim
Department of Preventive Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea .
Seok-Jun
SJ
Yoon
Department of Preventive Medicine, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea .
In-Hwan
IH
Oh
Department of Preventive Medicine, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea .
Jae Hee
JH
Lim
Cancer Policy Branch, National Cancer Control Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea .
Young Ae
YA
Kim
Anti-hypertensive medications; Cerebrovascular disease; Hypertension; Medication adherence