Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Aug 3;8(1):11688.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-29974-7.

Association between cognitive impairment and poor antihypertensive medication adherence in elderly hypertensive patients without dementia

Mi Hee Cho  1 , Dong Wook Shin  2 , Sung-A Chang  3 , Ji Eun Lee  4 , Su-Min Jeong  4 , Sang Hyuck Kim  4 , Jae Moon Yun  4 , Kiyoung Son  4
Affiliations

Association between cognitive impairment and poor antihypertensive medication adherence in elderly hypertensive patients without dementia

Mi Hee Cho et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Adherence to antihypertensive medication is a critical factor to control blood pressure and prevent complications. However, cognitive impairment can negatively affect medication adherence. In this study, we investigated the association between cognitive function and antihypertensive medication adherence among elderly hypertensive patients using the Korean National Health Insurance Service National Sample Cohort Data of the Elderly Cohort. The study included 20,071 elderly hypertensive patients and the prevalence of poor medication adherence to antihypertensive medications was 16.4%. A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that lower cognitive function was associated with poor medication adherence (adjusted odds ratio 0.980, 95% confidence interval 0.961-0.999). Additionally, high income levels, living in metropolitan areas, and comorbidities (such as stroke, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and dyslipidemia) were positively associated with medication adherence, while patients diagnosed with cancers showed poor medication adherence. Our study demonstrated that cognitive impairment is a possible risk factor for poor antihypertensive medication adherence, even in patients without dementia. Thus, clinicians involved with geriatric care should monitor patients' cognitive function and medication adherence. And if a patient shows cognitive impairment, clinicians need to educate patients and caregivers about the importance of proper adherence, and consider proper interventions to optimize the cognitive function of elderly patients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study population. KDSQ-P, Prescreening Korean Dementia Screening Questionnaire.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Lawes CM, Vander Hoorn S, Rodgers A. Global burden of blood-pressure-related disease, 2001. Lancet. 2008;371:1513–1518. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60655-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Law MR, Morris JK, Wald NJ. Use of blood pressure lowering drugs in the prevention of cardiovascular disease: meta-analysis of 147 randomised trials in the context of expectations from prospective epidemiological studies. BMJ. 2009;338:b1665. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b1665. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. DiMatteo MR, Giordani PJ, Lepper HS, Croghan TW. Patient adherence and medical treatment outcomes a meta-analysis. Med care. 2002;40:794–811. doi: 10.1097/00005650-200209000-00009. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dunbar-Jacob J, Mortimer-Stephens M. Treatment adherence in chronic disease. J Clin Epidemiol. 2001;54:S57–S60. doi: 10.1016/S0895-4356(01)00457-7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kim S, et al. Medication Adherence and the Risk of Cardiovascular Mortality and Hospitalization Among Patients With Newly Prescribed Antihypertensive Medications. Hypertension. 2016;67:506–512. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances