Drug Compliance and Its Associated Factors Among Hypertensive Patients in Pakistan: A Cross-sectional Study

The drug compliance and its associated factors were investigated among hypertensive patients attending the outpatient department of National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (NICVD), Karachi, from September 2014 to March 2015. Data were collected retrospectively from 300 hypertensive patients taken treatment for >1 year. Half of the patients (51%) were >55 years of age with the predominance of males (52.70%). Most respondents (47%) had had ischemic heart disease (IHD), 30% had diabetes, 47% had both IHD and diabetes, while only a small number of subjects (18%) reporting no comorbidity. Most respondents (82%) reported that they took medicine regularly. Drug compliance was found significantly higher in males (55.70%) as compared with females (44.30%) (P = .025). Similarly, drug compliance was found significantly higher in patients who monitored their blood pressure (BP) regularly (59.30%) as compared with the patients who did not monitor their BP regularly (40.70%) (P = .001). Most respondents (46.30%) with hypertension (HTN) duration <= 5 years had significantly higher drug compliance as compared with the patients with HTN duration of 6 to 10 years and >= 11 years, that is, 33.30% and 20.30%, respectively (P = .018). In conclusion, the rate of drug adherence is not up to the mark in hypertensive patients, with high compliance reported in only half of the respondents.