which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. Patient Preference and Adherence 2012:6 613–622 Patient Preference and Adherence

Purpose: Poor adherence to prescribed medications is a major cause for treatment failure, particularly in chronic diseases such as hypertension. This study was conducted to assess adherence to medications in patients undergoing hypertensive treatment in the Primary Health Clinics of the Ministry of Health in Malaysia. Factors affecting adherence to medications were studied, and the effect of nonadherence to blood pressure control was assessed. Patients and methods: This was a cross-sectional study to assess adherence to medications by adult patients undergoing hypertensive treatment in primary care. Adherence was measured using a validated survey form for medication adherence consisting of seven questions. A retrospective medication record review was conducted to collect and confirm data on patients ’ demographics, diagnosis, treatments, and outcomes. Results: Good adherence was observed in 53.4 % of the 653 patients sampled. Female patients were found to be more likely to adhere to their medication regime, compared to their male coun-terparts (odds ratio 1.46 [95 % confidence intervals [CI]: 1.05–2.04; P, 0.05]). Patients in the ethnic Chinese were twice as likely (95 % CI: 1.14–3.6; P, 0.05) to adhere, compared to those in the Indian ethnic group. An increase in the score for medicine knowledge was also found t