QUALITY OF LIFE AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

Background: Prevalence of hypertension is increasing every year in Saudi Arabia, where it is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular mortality. Chronic diseases like hypertension can severely affect the quality of life of patients, an important measure of well-being. This study aimed to assess the health-related quality of life and its associated factors among adult hypertensive patients in a tertiary care hospital.

Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was carried in the outpatient clinics of King Khalid University Hospital. It included patients of either sex, aged >=18 years and diagnosed with hypertension for the first group and without hypertension for the comparison group. Data was collected from the patients gave consent, using the WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) tool. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were carried out using SPSS.

Results: A total of 236 hypertensive and 254 non-hypertensive patients were included. Mean quality of life scores were 70.8 (physical), 72.9 (psychological), 76.7 (social) and 67.9 (environmental). The WHOQOL-BREF tool demonstrated high reliability (Chronbach’s alpha 0.91). Adjusted analysis showed that the hypertensive patients had a significantly higher score in the physical health, psychological health and social relationships domains as compared to non-hypertensives, after adjusting for age, gender and other demographic variables.

Conclusion: Hypertensive patients scored higher than the non-hypertensive patients, especially in the physical health, psychological health and social relationship domains of QOL. A comprehensive and holistic plan, targeting the various dimensions of health is necessary for improving the quality of life of hypertensive patients.

Keywords: Cross-sectional, hypertension, quality of life, WHOQOL-BREF, Saudi Arabia