ObjectivesNonadherence to antihypertensive medications has not been assessed in the Saudi population. The aim of this study was to address and evaluate the magnitude of nonadherence among hypertensive patients and the risk factors associated with it.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted on hypertensive patients who attended the general internal medicine clinics at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, using a questionnaire that was modified after reviewing the literature. Hypertensive patients were labeled as nonadherent if they missed their medications for a total of 7 days during the previous month.ResultsA total of 302 patients participated in the study, of whom 63% were females with a mean age of 64 years, and 64% were illiterate. The prevalence of nonadherence to medications among hypertensive patients was found to be 12.3%. Poor disease knowledge was reported in 80% of patients, while 66% of the patients had poor monitoring of their disease. Younger age (≤65 years), poor monitoring, and uncontrolled blood pressure (BP ≥140/90 mmHg) were the predictor factors associated with nonadherence (odds ratio [OR] =2.04, P=0.025; OR=2.39, P=0.004; and OR=2.86, P=0.003, respectively).ConclusionNonadherence to antihypertensive medications is lower than that previously reported in the literature. Younger age, uncontrolled BP, and poor monitoring are the main risk factors associated with nonadherence.
Objectives: To assess the quality and quantity of Saudi publications in oncology over a 10-year period. Methods: A systematic PubMed search was conducted between January 2008 and December 2017 to retrieve all Saudi oncology publications. Data about the articles was collected. The level of evidence (LOE) was independently assessed by 2 authors. Two 5-year periods (2008-2012 and 2013-2017) were compared using the relevant parameters. Clinicaltrials.gov was also searched for all oncology trials registered in Saudi Arabia. Original Article Results: A total of 839 publications met our inclusion criteria. The most common type of research was case series, totaling 32% of all publications. Clinical trials formed less than 2% of the total. The LOE was I, II, III, and IV in 0.3%, 2.1%, 58.4%, and 39.3% of the included publications, respectively. The LOE was the same in the 2 periods. There were more publications in international journals (p=0.004), more international collaborations (p=0.001), and higher journal impact factors (p=0.037) in 2013-2017 than in 2008-2012. Only 76 registered clinical trials were found in the Clinicaltrials.gov registry. Conclusion: Despite an increase in the number of Saudi publications in the field of oncology over time, the LOE did not change. There were, however, some improvements in the international collaboration and journal impact factor, as well as an increase in the number of studies published in international journals. These observations call for a national strategy to improve oncology research in Saudi Arabia.
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