Low medication adherence is associated with decline in health-related quality of life: results of a longitudinal analysis among older women and men with hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the association of low antihypertensive medication adherence with decline in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) over 1 year. METHODS: We used data from older men and women with hypertension (n = 1525) enrolled in the Cohort Study of Medication Adherence among Older Adults. Adherence was measured using the validated self-report four-item Krousel-Wood Medication Adherence Scale (K-Wood-MAS-4) (low adherence = score ≥1) and prescription refill-based proportion of days covered (PDC) (low adherence = PDC < 0.80). We defined decline in HRQOL as a decrease in Mental Component Summary (MCS) or Physical Component Summary (PCS) score (from the RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0 administered at two time points - at the time of adherence assessment and 1 year later) equivalent to the minimal important difference (MID) for each respective summary score, calculated as the average of MID estimates derived from distribution and anchor-based approaches. RESULTS: The prevalence of low adherence was 38.6% using the K-Wood-MAS-4 and 23.9% using PDC. On the basis of mean MID estimates of 4.40 for MCS and 5.16 for PCS, 21.8 and 25.2% of participants experienced a decline in MCS and PCS, respectively, over 1 year. Low adherence was associated with a decline in MCS for K-Wood-MAS-4 [prevalence ratio = 1.32, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.08-1.62, P = 0.008], but not PDC (prevalence ratio  = 1.17, 95% CI 0.94-1.47, P = 0.168). Low adherence was not associated with decline in PCS (K-Wood-MAS-4: prevalence ratio  = 0.95, 95% CI 0.79-1.16; PDC: prevalence ratio  = 1.10, 95% CI 0.90-1.35). CONCLUSION: Low self-report medication adherence is associated with decline in mental HRQOL over 1 year in older adults with hypertension.

Association of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Following Hurricane Katrina With Incident Cardiovascular Disease Events Among Older Adults With Hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms following Hurricane Katrina with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in older, hypertensive, community-dwelling adults both overall and stratified by age, sex, and race. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study performed in Southeastern Louisiana 12-24 months following Hurricane Katrina through February 2011. Participants were community-dwelling older adults (n = 2,073) enrolled in the Cohort Study of Medication Adherence Among Older Adults with no known history of CVD events. PTSD symptoms were assessed via telephone interview 12-24 months following Hurricane Katrina using the PTSD CheckList-Specific Version. The presence of PTSD symptoms was defined by scores greater than or equal to 37. Incident CVD events (stroke, myocardial infarction, hospitalization for congestive heart failure, or CVD death) were identified and adjudicated over a median 3.8-year follow-up period. RESULTS: Overall, 8.6% of participants screened positive for PTSD symptoms, and 11.6% had an incident CVD event during follow-up. PTSD symptoms were associated with an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for CVD events of 1.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1, 2.6). The association was present among blacks (aHR, 3.3, 95% CI, 1.7, 6.3) but not whites (aHR, 0.9, 95% CI, 0.4, 1.9); the interaction of PTSD symptoms and race on CVD events was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: PTSD symptoms following Hurricane Katrina were associated with a higher risk of incident CVD in older adults with hypertension, with a stronger association in blacks compared with whites.