Comparison of blood pressure regulation status, analgesic use profiles and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug side effects knowledge levels of hypertensive patients attending to Ankara Atatürk training and research Hospital Family Medicine outpatient clinics

Introduction and aims: Although hypertension is mostly preventable and treatment-sensitive, it is an increasingly important health problem that can not be adequately controlled worldwide. It is known that there are many factors influencing treatment control, including the use of long-term and unconscious nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). There are many studies examining the interaction of pain medications with antihypertensive drugs and the development of hypertension following NSAID use. However, there are limited numbers of NSAID adverse effects on patients' knowledge, attitudes and awareness. Based on this information, we aimed to investigate the relationship between blood pressure regulation of hypertensive patients and pain relief use profiles and NSAID side effect knowledge. Materials and Methods: 257 volunteer patients aged 18 years and over who applied to Ankara Atatürk Training and Research Hospital Family Medicine Outpatient Clinics were administered a questionnaire between 01.07.2017-01.11.2017 consisting of related questions sociodemographically diagnosed, duration, treatment and control of hypertension, analgesic usage profiles and NSAID side effect knowledge levels face to face. The average blood pressure values at home were calculated by the measurements of the patients on two different days. The mean blood pressure values measured in the outpatient clinic were used to assess the blood pressure regulation status. The blood pressure averages of the patients were determined by using a Omron M3 brand blood pressure monitor after a minimum of 5 minutes of rest, followed by a second measurement of the high cardinality of the two measurements. According to the Turkish Hypertension Consensus Report under the age of 80 years <140/90 mm Hg; 80 years and over <150/90 mm Hg blood pressure values were accepted as regulated. In the descriptive statistics, the mean and standard deviation of the numerical data were given, while the categorical data were given as the numbers and percentages. The distribution of the numerical data was examined by histogram graphs. Numerical data were analyzed by Student's t test in two separate groups. Chi-square test was used to compare categorical data. p value of significance was accepted as <0.05. SPSS 23.0 package program was used in the analyzes. Results: 257 hypertensive patients were included in the study. The average age of participants was 60.96 ± 10.31 years. 51.8% (n=133) of the patients were female and 48.2% (n=124) of the patients were male. Health care workers' BP regulation was significantly better than other occupations (p=0.031; 2 =3,370). There was no significant difference between other sociodemographic data and BP regulation. They were asked whether they were using the pain medication in the study. 86.4% (n=222) of the patients stated that they used pain relievers. The frequency of use of painkillers was significantly higher in females than males (p=0,010; 2 =5,793). As educational status increased, the use of analgesics decreased significantly (p=0.035; 2 =11,302 ). In addition, patients' NSAID use was questioned. NSAID use frequency was significantly higher in females than males (p=0.004; 2  =7,582). It was stated that 19,8% (n=51) of patients use more than one type of NSAID, 38,5% (n=99) use only one type of NSAID and 41,6% (n=107) of patients use never NSAID. There was no significant difference between patients' blood pressure regimen and NSAID use (p=0.841; 2  =0,005). There was no significant relationship between the frequency of using NSAIDs and blood pressure regulation (p=0.182; 2 =6,239). 42.4% (n=109) of the patients had knowledge about the side effects of NSAIDs and 57.6% (n=148) said that they had no information. There was no significant relationship between patients' knowledge of side effects of NSAIDs and NSAID use (p=0.874; 2  =0,001). Furthermore, there was no significant relationship between the patients' knowledge of side effects of NSAIDs and especially the knowledge of hypertensive side effects and blood pressure regulation (respectively p=0,984; 2  =0,000; p=0,836; 2  =0,357). Conclusion: In our study, there was no significant relationship between blood pressure regulation and analgesic profiles and knowledge of NSAIDs' side effects. However, ix larger sample volumes and multi-centered work are needed. In our study, the use of analgesics and NSAIDs was significantly higher in women than in men, and as education increased, the use of analgesics was significantly reduced. All individuals, especially women, because of the greater use of analgesics in women, and hypertensive patients with frequent multiple drug use should be informed in detail about NSAIDs' effects and side effects, which impair blood pressure control. Patients should be regularly provided with control and the factors that may impair blood pressure control should be questioned at every opportunity. Keywords: blood pressure control, analgesic, NSAID side effects