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Hypertension and Drug Adherence in the Elderly.

ABSTRACT: Hypertension is highly prevalent after the age of 65 years affecting more than 60% of individuals in developed countries. Today, there is sufficient evidence from clinical trials that treating elderly subjects with hypertension with antihypertensive medications has a positive benefit/risk ratio even in very elderly patients (>80 years). In recent years, partial or total non-adherence has been recognized as major issues in the long-term management of hypertension in all age categories. However, whether non-adherence is more frequent in hypertensive patients older than 65 years or not is still a matter of debate and the common belief is that adherence is lower in older than in younger patients. Are clinical data supporting this belief? In this brief review, we discuss the topic of drug adherence in elderly in the context of the medical treatment of hypertension. Studies show that drug adherence is actually better in patients aged 65 to 80 years when compared to younger hypertensive patients (<50 years). However, in very old patients (>80 years) the prevalence of non-adherence does increase. In this patients' group, there are specific risk factors for non-adherence such as cognitive ability, depression, and health believes, in addition to classical risk factors for non-adherence. One important aspect in the elderly is the prescription of potentially inappropriate medications that will interfere with the adherence to necessary treatments. In this context, an interesting new concept was developed few years ago, i.e., the process of deprescribing. Thus, today, in addition to conventional guidelines recommendations (use of single pill combinations, individualization of treatments), the evaluation of cognitive abilities, the regular assessment of potentially inappropriate medications, and the process of deprescribing appear to be three new additional steps to improve drug adherence in the elderly and thereby ameliorate the global management of hypertension.

SUBMITTER: Burnier M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7154079 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Hypertension and Drug Adherence in the Elderly.

Burnier Michel M Polychronopoulou Erietta E Wuerzner Gregoire G

Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine 20200407

Hypertension is highly prevalent after the age of 65 years affecting more than 60% of individuals in developed countries. Today, there is sufficient evidence from clinical trials that treating elderly subjects with hypertension with antihypertensive medications has a positive benefit/risk ratio even in very elderly patients (>80 years). In recent years, partial or total non-adherence has been recognized as major issues in the long-term management of hypertension in all age categories. However, w ...[more]

PMID: 32318584

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Project description:ObjectiveTo synthesise the findings from individual qualitative studies on patients' understanding and experiences of hypertension and drug taking; to investigate whether views differ internationally by culture or ethnic group and whether the research could inform interventions to improve adherence.DesignSystematic review and narrative synthesis of qualitative research using the 2006 UK Economic and Social Research Council research methods programme guidance.Data sourcesMedline, Embase, the British Nursing Index, Social Policy and Practice, and PsycInfo from inception to October 2011.Study selectionQualitative interviews or focus groups among people with uncomplicated hypertension (studies principally in people with diabetes, established cardiovascular disease, or pregnancy related hypertension were excluded).Results59 papers reporting on 53 qualitative studies were included in the synthesis. These studies came from 16 countries (United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Sweden, Canada, New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Ghana, Iran, Israel, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Tanzania, and Thailand). A large proportion of participants thought hypertension was principally caused by stress and produced symptoms, particularly headache, dizziness, and sweating. Participants widely intentionally reduced or stopped treatment without consulting their doctor. Participants commonly perceived that their blood pressure improved when symptoms abated or when they were not stressed, and that treatment was not needed at these times. Participants disliked treatment and its side effects and feared addiction. These findings were consistent across countries and ethnic groups. Participants also reported various external factors that prevented adherence, including being unable to find time to take the drugs or to see the doctor; having insufficient money to pay for treatment; the cost of appointments and healthy food; a lack of health insurance; and forgetfulness.ConclusionsNon-adherence to hypertension treatment often resulted from patients' understanding of the causes and effects of hypertension; particularly relying on the presence of stress or symptoms to determine if blood pressure was raised. These beliefs were remarkably similar across ethnic and geographical groups; calls for culturally specific education for individual ethnic groups may therefore not be justified. To improve adherence, clinicians and educational interventions must better understand and engage with patients' ideas about causality, experiences of symptoms, and concerns about drug side effects.

Project description:BACKGROUND:A lifesaving treatment for myocardial infarction is the placement of a stent in a closed or obstructed coronary artery. The largest modifiable risk factor after receiving a stent is medication adherence to Dual AntiPlatelet Therapy, a combination of P2Y12 inhibitors and aspirin. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to determine the acceptability of a protocol and an intervention using the My Interventional Drug-Eluting Stent Educational App (MyIDEA) and to evaluate medication adherence using the proportion of days covered (PDC) and platelet activation tests in a multisite randomized controlled trial. METHODS:Potential participants who received a post percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedure with a drug-eluting stent were approached. All patients older than 50 years and who spoke English were recruited. Participants were recruited, baseline demographics were collected, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine-Short Form, Burden-Benefit questionnaire, 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, and PCI knowledge questionnaire were administered. Block randomization was used to randomize participants to either usual care or MyIDEA supplementation. MyIDEA is a personalized educational intervention based on the Kolb experiential learning theory using patient narratives for education. During the visits, participants' blood was collected to measure platelet suppression from medication. During the second and third encounters, the Morisky medication adherence score and cardiology outcomes were measured. The study was conducted at the University of Illinois Hospital and John H Stroger Jr Cook County Hospital with appropriate ethical approvals. Platelet suppression was measured through aspirin reactive units and P2Y12 reactive units. Medication adherence was measured using the PDC. The analysis team was blinded to the participants' group membership. The primary outcome was a feasibility analysis of recruitment and retention. RESULTS:The mean age of participants was 60.4 years (SD 7.1); the majority of patients were black and non-Hispanic. The majority of patients' reading levels were seventh grade or above, and they were not very familiar with other electronic devices for information and communication. The number of control subjects was 21, and the number of participants in the interventional arm was 24. The interventional group was able to use MyIDEA in both the hospital and outpatient setting. However, there was no significant difference in platelet suppression or medication adherence between groups. There were also differences between the groups in terms of depression and anxiety, initially, as measured by HADS. No documented adverse event associated with the intervention was found. CONCLUSIONS:Elderly patients are willing to use tablet devices to be educated about health conditions. Additional studies are required to measure the effectiveness and determine the most suitable timing and location for patient education. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04439864; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04439864.

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Hypertension and Drug Adherence in the Elderly.

Publications

Hypertension and Drug Adherence in the Elderly.

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