Fatores associados a adesão ao tratamento da hipertensão arterial

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension is a chronic pathology that occupies the largest number of consultations in health services and therefore constitutes a public health problem. Non-adherence to antihypertensive therapy adds to this and raises concerns about coping with the disease, since it can reduce the risk of possible complications and premature death. Adherence to treatment is complex and several factors may be associated with it. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the factors associated with adherence to hypertension treatment. METHODOLOGY: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study with a quantitative approach in three Basic Health Units (UBS) in the city of Caxias-Ma with a sample of 146 hypertensive patients. Data was collected using an adapted questionnaire with questions relating to socioeconomic profile, nonpharmacological and pharmacological treatment factors, and the Morisky and Green Test (MTG) to measure the degree of patient adherence to pharmacological treatment. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 statistical software for descriptive analysis with calculations of absolute frequencies and percentages. A chi-squared test was performed to verify the association between socioeconomic profile and adherence to drug treatment. RESULTS: The majority were female (70.5%), aged between 56 and 65 (34.2%), 43.8% were brown, 43.2% were married and 45.2% reported "incomplete primary education". With regard to family income, 50.7% of hypertensive patients reported receiving 1 minimum wage and 72.6% were Catholic. 72.76% of those surveyed were classified as non-adherent to drug treatment, with the main barrier to adherence being forgetting to take the medication; however, this result shows that patients do not stop taking it intentionally. As for the factors associated with adherence to pharmacological treatment, there were significant percentages of greater chance of adherence, where there was no interruption of treatment in the absence of symptoms, no difficulty in taking the medication, acquiring it at the UBS, or attending scheduled appointments for treatment. With regard to non-pharmacological treatment, patients showed greater adherence to changes in eating habits, with a reduction in salt and fat consumption and an increased preference for white meat, although 57.93% said they did not practice physical activity. When socioeconomic characteristics were associated with adherence to non-pharmacological treatment, there was no statistically significant association with any of the independent variables. CONCLUSION: Since hypertension is a highly prevalent disease and can contribute negatively to the onset of other comorbidities and even lead to death if left uncontrolled, there is a need for a permanent educational process with these patients and constant attention to clarifying their health condition and the need for treatment.