Background: Non-compliance with prescribed antihypertensive medication is an important contributor to the failure of antihypertensive therapy. Objective: To assess the validity of a short questionnaire in the identification of non-compliant patients. Methods: In three central-European countries, work-site screening for hypertension was conducted. Blood pressure was measured using an automatic electronic blood pressure measuring device(BpTRU). Respondents were interviewed by trained personnel and a short questionnaire focused on blood pressure awareness and treatment compliance was completed. Results: A total of 2812 persons were screened: 841(29.9%) respondents were hypertensive, and out of these the total number of treated hypertensive subjects was 359(42.6%). Mean systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were significantly lower in the compliant group than the non-compliant group(systolic blood pressure, 139.4 and 146.2 mmHg, respectively, P=0.002; and diastolic blood pressure, 89.2 and 92.3 mmHg, respectively, P< 0.01). The non-compliant group was younger than the compliant group(mean age, 46.7 versus 48.9 years, respectively, P=0.01). Females, patients on combined therapy and non-smokers were more compliant than males, those on mono-therapy and smokers(P=0.01, P=0.004 and P=0.005, respectively). Conclusion: Patients reporting strict compliance with prescribed drug therapy have significantly lower systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure than those who admit even an occasional lapse in taking medication. A properly formulated questionnaire can identify non-compliant patients.
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