Key result
Polypharmacy affects 21% of hypertensive patients and is strongly linked to longer hypertension duration.
Why the study?
Polypharmacy is a key contributor to noncompliance with antihypertensive medications, warranting evaluation among hypertensive patients in primary healthcare centres.
Cross-Sectional (n=506)
Yes
p-value: p=<0.001
Polypharmacy is prevalent among hypertensive patients in Saudi Arabia and is significantly associated with a longer duration of hypertension.
Clinicians may consider polypharmacy review in longstanding hypertension; leaves open causality and generalizability.
Introduction: Saudi Arabia has several hypertensive patients who require close attention and specialised care for their medications. Polypharmacy is one of the reasons for the failure of patient compliance with antihypertensive medications. Therefore, this study aims to gain a better perspective on polypharmacy in hypertensive patients attending primary healthcare (PHC) centres in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional, descriptive study of hypertensive patients followed up at 10 PHC centres in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2022. Frequencies and percentages were used to present categorical data, and Pearson’s χ 2 test was used to measure differences. A P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 506 patients were included in this study. The mean age of the patients was 60 years, and more than half (69%) were females. Regarding antihypertensive medication use, 64% were on antihypertensive combination therapy, 76% on dual therapy, 21% on triple therapy, and 3% on quadruple therapy. Moreover, 21% of the hypertensive patients were exposed to polypharmacy. There was a significant relationship ( P <0.001) between the overall number of chronic medications used per day and the duration of hypertension. Conclusion: More clinical research is needed to identify the impact of polypharmacy on the quality of healthcare in PHC centres in general and hypertensive patients specifically in different regions of Saudi Arabia.
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Alsanosi et al. (2023) conducted a cross-sectional in Hypertension (n=506). Polypharmacy was evaluated on Relationship between the overall number of chronic medications used per day and the duration of hypertension (p=<0.001). Polypharmacy (use of ≥5 medications/day) was present in 21% of hypertensive patients and was significantly associated with the duration of hypertension (P < 0.001).
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