A cross-sectional study of 156 older adults with hypertension in Rangpur, Bangladesh found that high self-reported medication adherence was associated with a higher EQ-5D index after adjustment, with a reported difference of 0.201 points. Because exposure and outcome were assessed at the same period, the study cannot distinguish whether adherence improved quality of life or whether healthier and better-resourced people were more able to adhere.
Key findings
- Mean age was 66.2±6.6 years. High, medium and low adherence were reported by 41%, 28.8% and 30.1%, respectively, and mean EQ-5D was 0.63±0.263. Income, occupation, hypertension duration, blood-pressure control, exercise, tobacco use and adherence were among the factors associated with quality-of-life domains.
Why this matters globally
The findings reinforce that medication access alone may be insufficient; counselling, affordability, medication understanding and continuity of care may need to be addressed together. Transfer to other countries requires adaptation to local health systems and social conditions.
Thai researcher contribution
Co-author Irfan Nowroz Noor is linked to Mahidol University through doctoral study in health management. Thailand's role is therefore academic and health-systems collaboration, while all patient data came from Bangladesh.
Limitations to consider
This single-centre, modest-size, cross-sectional study relies partly on self-report and is vulnerable to recall, social-desirability and residual-confounding biases. It cannot show change over time, and the 0.201 difference should not be interpreted as a treatment effect.