[Factors determining compliance in hypertensive patients].
The influence of various demographic, disease-related and therapeutic factors on compliance has been investigated in 110 patients with hypertension, heart failure or edema. While demographic factors such as age, sex, socioeconomic status, marital status and smoking habits, scarcely influenced drug adherence, duration of therapy showed the greatest compliance-lowering effect. In the 27 hospitalized patients compliance decreased in 3.2 weeks from 92.6% to 75% and in 83 outpatients from 83% to 56% in 17.8 weeks. Totally mean compliance of hospitalized patients was higher (86.9%) than in outpatients (79.7%). The percentage of fully compliant patients was also greater (74%) in hospitalized patients than in outpatients (54.2%). Patients with symptomatic diagnoses complied better than asymptomatic patients: Mean compliance rate was 87% (n = 17) in outpatients with heart failure or edema and 77.3% (n = 66) in hypertensive outpatients. Hypertensives with symptoms due to other diseases also showed a higher compliance (80%) than those with asymptomatic diagnoses (71.1%). New symptoms during therapy and side effects of the antihypertensive treatment decreased the percentage of compliers to 64% and 59% respectively. On the other hand, the severity of hypertension had no effect on drug adherence. Patients with systolic blood pressure values between 140 and less than 180 mm Hg showed an identical compliance (79.8%; n = 47) to those with systolic values greater than 180 mm Hg (79.9% n = 60).