Factors associated with blood pressure control among patients attending the outpatient clinic of a South African district hospital

Abstract

OBJECTIVE : To determine the prevalence and factors associated with blood pressure (BP) control. METHODS : In a cross-sectional study involving 251 consecutively-sampled patients, a semi-structured questionnaire collected information on socio-demography, co-morbidities, hypertension treatments and BP control. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and logistic regression. RESULTS : Most participants were: on treatment for >5 years (60.6%); on three or more drugs (93.6%); treated according to guidelines (77%); and reported not missing medications in the last week (86.5%). BP control was achieved in only 31.5% and 16.7% of participants at the current and last visits, respectively. In multivariate regression analysis, a history of myocardial infarction (odd ratio [OR]¼0.41; P¼0.04) and being divorced/widowed (OR¼3.1; P¼0.01) predicted poor BP control. CONCLUSION : This study confirms the prevalent sub-optimal control of BP and suggests the need for further studies to examine the relationship between marital support, critical medical events and BP control.