Quality of life among people living with hypertension in a rural Vietnam community

Abstract

BackgroundTo respond to growing prevalence of hypertension in Vietnam, it is critical to have an in-depth understanding about quality of life (QOL) among people living with hypertension and related factors. This study aimed to measure QOL among hypertensive people in a rural community in Vietnam, and its association with socio-demographic characteristics and factors related to treatment.MethodsThis study was conducted in a rural community located 60 km from Ho Chi Minh City. Face-to-face interviews were conducted among 275 hypertensive people aged 50 years and above using WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to examine mean scores of quality of life. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were applied to estimate the internal consistency, and the level of agreement between different domains of WHOQOL-BREF, respectively. Independent T-test and ANOVA test followed by multiple linear regression analyses were used to measure the association between QOL domains and independent variables.ResultsBoth overall WHOQOL-BREF and each domain had a good internal consistency, ranging from 0.65 to 0.88. The QOL among hypertensive patients was found moderate in all domains, except for psychological domain that was fairly low (mean = 49.4). Backward multiple linear regressions revealed that being men, married, attainment of higher education, having physical activities at moderate level, and adherence to treatment were positively associated with QOL. However, older age and presence of co-morbidity were negatively associated with QOL.ConclusionWHOQOL-BREF is a reliable instrument to measure QOL among hypertensive patients. The results revealed low QOL in psychological domain and inequality in QOL across socio-demographic characteristics. Given the results, encouraging physical activities and strengthening treatment adherence should be considered to improve QOL of hypertensive people, especially for psychological aspect. Actions to improve QOL among hypertensive patients targeted towards women, lower educated and unmarried patients are needed in the setting.

Qualidade de vida e características associadas: aplicação do WHOQOL-BREF no contexto da Atenção Primária à Saúde

“…Regarding gender, women evidenced worse perception of QOL than men in all domains, but only for the psychological domain the difference was statistically significant. The same result was observed by other authors 19,27,35 , and the relationship between female gender and psychosocial factors is well reported in studies in the literature, where women reported having more negative feelings, low self-esteem and depression than men 36,37 . Living without partners was associated with a lower perception of QOL in the social relationship domains, as observed by other authors 12,19,38 .…”

“…The same result was observed by other authors 19,27,35 , and the relationship between female gender and psychosocial factors is well reported in studies in the literature, where women reported having more negative feelings, low self-esteem and depression than men 36,37 . Living without partners was associated with a lower perception of QOL in the social relationship domains, as observed by other authors 12,19,38 . Individuals without partners tend to perform poorly on structural aspects of social support networks, such as less contact with family and friends and low frequency of assistance received and provided 39 .…”

“…Regarding health conditions, chronic diseases was associated with a worse overall QOL and in the physical and psychological domains. Chronic diseases are more likely to limit daily activities due to physical symptoms such as pain and discomfort, which may decrease the functional capacity of individuals and negatively reflect their QOL, especially in the physical domain 19,[49][50][51][52] . Likewise, in the psychological domain, limitations imposed by chronic diseases' impact on mental health, perception about feelings and self-image, which can significantly decrease their QOL [49][50][51] .…”

“…Studies performed in the context of primary care observed a variability of QOL perception, pointing to the domain "social relationships" as the one with the greatest contribution to a good QOL, and the "environment" domain with the lowest contribution 9,11,12,15,17 . Diseases, low adherence to treatment and low educational level are factors associated with poorer perception of QOL in individuals serviced at PHC facilities 18,19 . …”

Associação entre a qualidade de vida e adesão à medicação de indivíduos hipertensos

“…There is an increasing search for assessment of the quality of life of hypertensive subjects because this is considered an important indicator to identify the health status of individuals in face of the results of antihypertensive treatments. (16) Besides medical treatment, it is essential that hypertensive individuals follow a nonpharmacological treatment, which consists of care for the management of weight control, diet, reduction of salt and alcohol consumption, smoking abstention, stress management and regular practice of physical activity. (17) The findings of this study showed that among the possible managements of nonpharmacological treatments, the regular practice of physical activity was the item of greatest commitment, since more than 50% of participants did not have this habit.…”