Impact of hypertension and antihypertensive drug treatment on subjective perception of quality of life (QOL)

QOL is a relevant dimension in psychological monitoring of chronic diseases like hypertension. A negative perception of QOL has been related to a low compliance to antihypertensive drug treatment (ADT) by patients. Aim of this study was to assess the impact of blood pressure (BP) and ADT on QOL estimated by using the SATisfaction Profile (SAT-P) test, which evaluates five dimensions: Psychological, Physical, Work-related, Social, Sleep/Eating/Free Time. 240 subjects (M/F:113/127; Age:54.99±12.50) filled in the SAT-P test and were submitted to a 24-hrs BP monitoring. Results showed a significant impact of ADT (positive for women, negative for men) on Psychological Functioning (p<.05), Emotional Stability (p<.02), Self-control (p<.04), Physical Functioning (p<.02) and Sleep/Eating/Free Time (p<.02). These results can be due to cultural gender differences, inducing men to perceive negatively their drug dependence. This hypothesis seems to be supported by the absence of a gender by ADT interaction on active principle of drugs.