Carlos Alberto Guerra Rodriguez

Dr. Carlos Alberto Guerra Rodriguez

Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud, Panama City, Panama
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Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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9 November 2022 in Healthcare
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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Carlos Alberto Guerra RodriguezCarlos Alberto Guerra Rodriguez
Carlos Alberto Guerra Rodriguez
ECEric Conte
Eric Conte
ARAngela Isabel Del Rio
Angela Isabel Del Rio
JMJorge Motta
Jorge Motta
IVIlais Moreno Velásquez
Ilais Moreno Velásquez
Hedley Knewjen QuintanaHedley Knewjen Quintana
Hedley Knewjen Quintana
Poor medication adherence is a public health concern leading to a large burden of cardiovascular disease among persons with hypertension. Using data from 3281 persons with diagnosed hypertension (N = 622,581) from the Panamanian National Health Survey (ENSPA) collected in 2019, we assessed the national prevalence of low-moderate medication adherence in hypertensive individuals using the 4-scale Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (4-MMAS) and identifying gender-specific associated factors. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between possible risk factors and low-moderate medication adherence with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) stratified by gender. The national prevalence of low-moderate medication adherence was 78.2% (95% CI: 74.7–81.0%); in men it was 74.4% (95% CI: 67.5–80.3%) and in women it was 81.4% (78.4–84.0%). In women, low-moderate medication adherence was associated with living in indigenous area (OR: 5.15; 95% CI: 1.40–18.98), educational level (OR no formal education: 0.77, 95% CI 0.28–2.14; OR for primary education: 0.76, 95% CI 0.38–1.56; OR for secondary education: 0.90, 95% CI 0.48–1.70; Higher education as reference), increased BMI (normal as reference, OR for overweight: 1.35, 95% CI: 0.73–2.50, OR for obesity: 1.65, 95% CI: 0.90–3.03) and medical diagnosis of anxiety/depression (OR: 4.89, 95% CI: 1.36–17.49). However, in men, it was associated with having secondary education (OR: 2.94; 95% CI: 1.03–8.36), currently smoking (OR: 16.74, 95% CI: 1.83–152.70), taking antihypertensive medication with denial of hypertension diagnosis (OR: 4.35, 95% CI: 1.11–17.11) and having less than three annual check-ups (OR for no health check-ups: 2.97, 95% CI: 0.63–13.88; OR for 1–2 check-ups: 1.61, 95% CI: 0.78–3.32: three or more health check-ups: reference). Time since diagnosis was inversely associated with low-moderate adherence. This study assesses for the first time the national prevalence of low-moderate medication adherence among hypertensive individuals in Panama. Low-moderate medication adherence is an important public health issue that should be addressed to achieve blood pressure control in patients diagnosed with hypertension, taking into account gender-specific factors.
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