Does telemedical home blood pressure monitoring improve health-related quality of life in hypertensive patients?
Telemonitoring of home blood pressure in hypertensive patients may slightly improve specific domains of health-related quality of life, such as bodily pain and general health perception, compared to conventional office monitoring.
Telemonitoring of home blood pressure (BP) is a new advance in home BP monitoring (HBPM) and has proved effective in improving BP control. The impact of telemedical HBPM on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has not yet been studied. The purpose of this study is to compare HRQOL using a generic scale (SF-36) in patients with antihypertensive treatment based on telemedical HBPM and in patients with antihypertensive treatment based on conventional monitoring of office BP. Hypertensive patients (n = 223) recruited by general practitioners participated in the study. In the intervention group, antihypertensive treatment was based on telemedical HBPM. In the control group, patients (n = 118) received usual care with office visits to monitor BP. After 6 months, participants filled out SF-36 questionnaires. Patients in the telemonitoring group (T) had higher mean scores in the bodily pain domain than patients in the control group (C), indicating less pain and interference with activities among telemonitored patients T: 85.3(20.2), C: 78.3(26.4), p = 0.026). Patients were more likely to feel their general health had worsened during the last year if antihypertensive treatment was based on conventional office measurements. In the bodily pain domain and health transition scale, scores were slightly better among telemonitored patients compared with control patients.
Madsen et al. (Tue,) studied this question.