Uncontrolled blood pressure among hypertensive old people assisted in Primary Health Care

Abstract Objective To investigate the prevalence of uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) and associated factors in hypertensive old people assisted by the Family Health Strategy in a municipality in Piauí, Brazil. Method Cross-sectional study conducted with 384 hypertensive old people, selected by random sampling. A questionnaire included questions about sociodemographic aspects, health behaviors, the presence of comorbidities and treatment for hypertension. BP was measured using digital devices. To test the association between the independent variables (gender, age, education, alcohol consumption, smoking, presence of other diseases, adherence to drug treatment, and others factors) and uncontrolled BP, Poisson regressions with robust variance were performed in order to estimate the prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results The prevalence of uncontrolled BP was 61.7% and 51.8% had low adherence to antihypertensive medication. The prevalence of uncontrolled BP was higher among participants with low medication adherence (PR=2.41; 95% CI: 1.96-2.97) when compared to those with high adherence. Statistically significant associations were not maintained for the other variables. Conclusion The findings highlight the high prevalence of uncontrolled BP among hypertensive old people and the strong association between uncontrolled BP and low adherence to treatment. Efficient interventions for better control of hypertension continue to be necessary, as well as strategies for the adequate management of the disease in the scope of primary care, from prevention actions to appropriate treatment plans for each individual.