Table 2.
Prevalence of Low Antihypertensive Medication Adherencea Associated With Life Events,b Stratified by Coping Level,c Among CoSMO Participants, 2007–2008
| Total Sample | No. With Life Event (n = 1,817) | Low Medication Adherence, % |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| High Coping (n = 947; 13.4%) | Low Coping (n = 869; 13.6%) | ||
| Vacation | 748 | 10.2* | 10.5 |
| Death of a close friend | 567 | 16.5* | 16.3 |
| Death in the family | 467 | 12.8 | 15.9 |
| Change in health/behavior of family member | 413 | 18.1 | 20.3*** |
| Gained a new family member | 362 | 12.4 | 17.3 |
| Change in amount/type of recreation | 320 | 17.2 | 19.9** |
| Change in the number of get-togethers | 315 | 16.3 | 15.5 |
| Change in financial state | 298 | 20.1* | 20.1*** |
| Large purchase | 291 | 12.4 | 14.9 |
| Change in eating habits | 280 | 13.4 | 26.7*** |
| Sexual difficulties | 266 | 15.8 | 17.5 |
| Change in sleeping habits | 252 | 13.1 | 20.0* |
| Change in living conditions | 226 | 17.2 | 15.5 |
| Outstanding personal achievement | 214 | 13.2 | 14.1 |
| Personal injury or illness | 214 | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Change in church activities | 213 | 17.5 | 19.8* |
| Change in social activities | 195 | 14.7 | 22.6* |
| Change in residence | 132 | 15.5 | 11.5 |
| Retirement | 112 | 19.7 | 22.2 |
| Change in number of arguments with spouse | 105 | 12.5 | 14.3 |
Abbreviation: CoSMO, Cohort Study of Medication Adherence among Older Adults.
* P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 for comparison of low adherence in those participants experiencing each life event versus those who did not.
a Antihypertensive medication adherence was measured at the 1-year CoSMO follow-up survey by using the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8): Low medication adherence was defined as an MMAS-8 score of <8.
b Life events reported by <5% of the sample are not listed. Life events over the last year were measured at the 1-year CoSMO follow-up survey by using the Holmes Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS).
c Coping was measured at the baseline CoSMO survey by using a 7-item coping scale: Low and high coping are defined as scores above and below the median for the sample, respectively. Coping data were not available for 1 participant in the sample.