Quality of life and medication adherence of hypertensive patients in Eastern DR Congo: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: Hypertension represents a significant public health issue and stands as one of the most prevalent chronic diseases worldwide, affecting both developed and developing nations.Notably, data regarding hypertension in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains scarce.This study sought to evaluate the effects of adherence to antihypertensive medication on the quality of life among hypertensive patients.Method: This study focused on hypertensive patients aged 18 and older in Katwa, Butembo, and Musienene from July 1 to November 1, 2024, involving 211 patients selected by convenience sampling.Inclusion required at least six months of treatment.Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) was measured using the SF-36 scale, and medication adherence was assessed with the MMAS-8.Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and linear regression to examine the relationship between adherence and quality of life.Results: The findings indicated a non-adherence rate of 56.40% among participants.Furthermore, the mean scores across various dimensions of quality of life were observed to be relatively low, particularly in the domain of general health, which registered a score of 36.11%,indicative of poor quality of life.A significant correlation was identified between high levels of adherence to medication and improvement in specific domains of quality of life, including physical function, social function, physical limitation, and mental health.Conclusion: Hypertensive patients had low treatment adherence, correlating with poor qualityof-life scores, while high adherence was linked to better quality-of-life improvements.