Hypertension and health-related quality of life: an epidemiological study in patients attending hospital clinics in China

A tailored target intervention on influence factors of quality of life in Chinese patients with hypertension

Studies suggested that hypertension was associated with impaired health-related quality of life and it is important to find a proper and feasible management of hypertension in the community. This study evaluates the effect of a tailored target intervention on influence factors of quality of life in Chinese patients with hypertension. A cross-sectional survey was carried out to investigate 644 patients with hypertension by using the Chinese version of the short form-36, and 195 patients were screened out to participate in the tailored target intervention. Multivariate linear regression analyses showed that age, gender, educational level, high intake of fried food, household income, attitude, knowledge, blood pressure, symptoms, serious events during the past year, duration of hypertension, and number of taking anti-hypertensive medicine were significantly correlated with quality of life. Grade-based management by community physicians and physical exercise had a positive effect on quality of life. After the 6-month intervention, the control rate of hypertension was increased from 32.0% to 39.4%, and the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure values were significantly decreased to 137.2 and 85.7 mmHg vs. 140.9 and 87.6 mmHg at baseline, respectively. The intervention program resulted in overall improvement on total score of quality of life and mean scores of all the domains except social functioning in patients with hypertension. In view of the influence factors of quality of life, taking the tailored target intervention could not only improve the quality of life of hypertensive patients, but also effectively increase the control rate of hypertension.

Pharmacoeconomics and quality of life analysis of telmisartan in hypertension treatment

Hypertension is a major public health problem, being one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide and a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system plays an important role in volume homeostasis and blood pressure regulation, and is a target for several groups of pharmaceutical agents. Telmisartan, a highly selective AT1 receptor antagonist, fulfills all new criteria for antihypertensive agents: high effectiveness, high specificity, high compliance and fewer adverse effects. Several clinical trials and the clinical practice setting indicate substantial evidence that telmisartan, either as monotherapy or in combination with other antihypertensive drugs, provides long-term antihypertensive efficacy. In fact, telmisartan has the property to sustain blood pressure control throughout the 24-h dosage interval. Furthermore, telmisartan can play an important role in improving compliance, because of its documented good tolerability profile, which limits the adverse effects. This article provides the most recent data of the pharmacoeconomic position of telmisartan and its treatment effects on quality of life.

Correlates of quality of life in primary care patients with hypertension

BACKGROUND

Hypertension has been associated with lower levels of quality of life (QoL). However, the specific correlates of lower QoL in this patient population have remained largely unclear.

METHODS

A cross-sectional design of 1,125 primary care patients with hypertension. We evaluated demographics, health status, subjective health and mental health, health behaviors, health beliefs, knowledge of hypertension treatment, satisfaction with medical care, and quality of medical care as potential predictors of QoL and perceived QoL in the hypothetical absence of hypertension.

RESULTS

Worse financial status, poorer blood pressure control, worse subjective health, mental distress, lack of hypertension diet, and irregular hypertension care were all associated with worse QoL. Worse financial status, poorer blood pressure control, higher body mass index, mental distress, and following a hypertension diet were associated with better QoL in the hypothetical absence of hypertension.

CONCLUSIONS

In addition to taking into consideration well known determinants of QoL, such as financial status, health status, and mental health, physicians need to be aware of the potential tradeoff between following medical recommendations that advocate for a strict diet and the impact these have on patients' QoL. Physicians also need to be aware of the effect of imparting information regarding imbalanced blood pressure on perceived QoL.