LEVEL OF ADHERENCE TO AND AWARENESS OF HYPERTENSION TREATMENT MEDICATIONS AMONG POPULATION IN RIYADH

Background: in 2015, there were 1.13 billion people living with high blood pressure worldwide. The prevalence of hypertension worldwide is of about 40%. In Saudi Arabia, it reached 3.2% among those aged between 15-24 years, 51.2% among those aged 55-64 years and up to 70% among those aged 65 years and older. It has been observed that there is an increase in prehypertension cases, reaching 46.5% (3 million) among males and 34.3% (more than 2 million) among females. Worldwide, raised blood pressure is estimated to cause 7.5 million deaths, about 12.8% of the total of all deaths. Aim of the work: this study aimed to assess knowledge of hypertension and to determine factors affecting the compliance of hypertensive patients to their antihypertensive drugs. Methods: we have conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study in Riyadh city population, Saudi Arabia. This study was conducted during the period from September 2018 to June 2019. The participants were selected by random sampling. Sampling included the different geographical areas of the city. The total sample included 216 pupils. All the pupils were approached to obtain the desired sample size. A self-administered questionnaire about hypertension and complications was filled by the participants. Results: in this study, participants classified to three groups according to age: less than 40 years old from 40 to 65 years old and 65 years old or above. Male and female groups contributed to 72.2% and 27.8% respectively. The majority of participants were university graduates (55.6%) and about 33.3% were secondary education. The majority of participants with hypertension were on one medication prescribed for treatment of their high blood pressure and the majority of participants (66.7%) were poorly compliant to their hypertension medication. Conclusion: more attention is needed on preventive educational programs that focus on awareness and assessment of the hypertension medications adherence, complications of hypertension, and the danger of poor control of it. Keywords: Hypertension, adherence, control, perception