Hypertension is a typical example of long-term disease posing formidable challenges to health care. One goal of antihypertensive therapy is to achieve optimal blood pressure (BP) control and reduce co-occurring chronic conditions (multimorbidity). This study aimed to assess the influence of multimorbidity on medication adherence, and to explore the association between poor BP control and multimorbidity, with implications for hypertension management.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Despite effective treatments, suboptimal medication adherence substantially hinders blood pressure (BP) control among hypertensive patients. This study aimed to evaluate the determinants of medication adherence and BP control among hypertensive patients in Hong Kong.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted.
Br J Clin Pharmacol
October 2015
It is recognised that randomised controlled trials are not feasible for capturing rare adverse events. There is an increasing trend towards observational research methodologies using large population-based health databases. These databases offer more scope for adequate sample sizes, allowing for comprehensive patient characterisation and assessment of the associated factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe prevalence of diabetes mellitus is rising globally, and it induces a substantial public health burden to the healthcare systems. Its optimal control is one of the most significant challenges faced by physicians and policy-makers. Whereas some of the established oral hypoglycaemic drug classes like biguanide, sulphonylureas, thiazolidinediones have been extensively used, the newer agents like dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors and the human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues have recently emerged as suitable options due to their similar efficacy and favorable side effect profiles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdherence to antihypertensive medications represents a crucial success factor for optimal blood pressure (BP) control in clinical practice. This study evaluated whether an additional pharmacist-led medication counseling could achieve better optimal BP control and enhance compliance. In a designated family clinic in a region with similar resident characteristics to Hong Kong, patients taking ≥ one antihypertensive agent with suboptimal compliance were randomly allocated to a brief 3-minute drug advice (control; n = 161) or pharmacist counseling (intervention; n = 113).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Poor adherence to medications is one of the major public health challenges. Only one-third of the population reported successful control of blood pressure, mostly caused by poor drug adherence. However, there are relatively few reports studying the adherence levels and their associated factors among Chinese patients.
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