Key result
Intermittent lack of access to antihypertensive medication during the COVID-19 pandemic was independently associated with increased nonadherence to treatment (OR 2.56).
Why the study?
The COVID-19 pandemic imposed substantial social restrictions that impaired routine medical care, which may have influenced adherence to antihypertensive treatment.
What is the rate of nonadherence to antihypertensive treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic and what are its predictors?
Cross-Sectional (n=281)
No
What is the rate of nonadherence to antihypertensive treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic and what are its predictors?
Odds Ratio: 2.56 (95% CI 1.11–5.89)
p-value: p=0.026
The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted adherence to antihypertensive treatment, driven by lack of medication access and socioeconomic factors such as race.
Adherence challenges during pandemic restrictions may warrant monitoring; leaves open optimal interventions for BP control in future crises.
BACKGROUND: Nonadherence to antihypertensive treatment is one of the main causes of the lack of blood pressure (BP) control. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic imposes substantial social restriction impairing the medical care routine, which may influence adherence to the antihypertensive treatment. To assess the rate of nonadherence to antihypertensive drug treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study evaluating hypertensive adult patients from a tertiary outpatient clinic. From March to August 2020, patients were interviewed by telephone during the social distancing period of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated biosocial data, habits, attitudes, and treatment adherence using the 4-item Morisky Green Levine Scale during the social distancing. Uncontrolled BP was defined by BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg. Clinical and prescription variables for drug treatment were obtained from the electronic medical record. We performed a multivariate analysis to determine the predictors of nonadherence to BP treatment. RESULTS: We studied 281 patients (age 66 ± 14 years, 60.5% white, 62.3% women, mean education of 9.0 ± 4 years of study). We found that 41.3% of the individuals reported poor adherence to antihypertensive drug treatment and 48.4% had uncontrolled BP. Subsample data identified that adherence was worse during the pandemic than in the previous period. The variables that were independently associated with the nonadherence during the pandemic period were black skin color (odds ratio [OR], 2.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.46-4.68), and intermittent lack of access to antihypertensive medication during the pandemic (OR, 2.56; 95% CI, 1.11-5.89). CONCLUSIONS: Beyond traditional variables associated with poor adherence, the lack of availability of antihypertensive medications during the study underscore the potential role of pandemic on hypertension burden.
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Guimarães et al. (2022) conducted a cross-sectional in Hypertension (n=281). Intermittent lack of access to antihypertensive medication vs. Continuous access to medication was evaluated on Nonadherence to antihypertensive drug treatment (OR 2.56, 95% CI 1.11-5.89, p=0.026). Intermittent lack of access to antihypertensive medication during the COVID-19 pandemic was independently associated with increased nonadherence to treatment (OR 2.56).
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