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IntroductionOver the past few decades, the prevalence of hypertension has dramatically increased in Sub-Saharan Africa. Poor adherence has been identified as a major cause of failure to control hypertension. Scarce data are available in Africa.AimsWe assessed adherence to medication and identified socioeconomics, clinical and treatment factors associated with low adherence among hypertensive patients in 12 sub-Saharan African countries.MethodWe conducted a cross-sectional survey in urban clinics of both low and middle income countries. Data were collected by physicians on demographics, treatment and clinical data among hypertensive patients attending the clinics. Adherence was assessed by questionnaires completed by the patients. Factors associated with low adherence were investigated using logistic regression with a random effect on countries.ResultsThere were 2198 individuals from 12 countries enrolled in the study. Overall, 678 (30.8%), 738 (33.6%), 782 (35.6%) participants had respectively low, medium and high adherence to antihypertensive medication. Multivariate analysis showed that the use of traditional medicine (OR: 2.28, 95%CI [1.79-2.90]) and individual wealth index (low vs. high wealth: OR: 1.86, 95%CI [1.35-2.56] and middle vs. high wealth: OR: 1.42, 95%CI [1.11-1.81]) were significantly and independently associated with poor adherence to medication. In stratified analysis, these differences in adherence to medication according to individual wealth index were observed in low-income countries (pConclusionThis study revealed the high frequency of poor adherence in African patients and the associated factors. These findings should be useful for tailoring future programs to tackle hypertension in low income countries that are better adapted to patients, with a potential associated enhancement of their effectiveness.

Summary Background Heart failure (HF) is a frequent cause of hospitalisation in cardiology. Its prognosis depends on several risk factors, one of which is anaemia. Objectives We aimed to determine the prevalence of anaemia in patients with heart failure, and evaluate its impact on their prognosis. Methods This article describes a cross-sectional study with prospective collection of data, carried out from 1 January to 31 December 2010 in the Department of Cardiology at Brazzaville University Hospital, Congo. Patients admitted for heart failure were included. Anaemia was defined as a haemoglobin level < 12 g/dl for men and < 11 g/dl for women. Results In total, 130 men (47.8%) and 142 women (52.2%) were recruited, mean age 56.9 ± 16.5 years. The prevalence of anaemia was 42%. Average levels of haemoglobin were 9.4 ± 1.8 and 13.8 ± 4.9 g/dl for the anaemic (A) and non-anaemic (NA) patients, respectively (p = 0.0001). Two hundred and forty-nine patients (91.5%) were in NYHA functional class III–IV. Forty-seven patients (17.3%) were on oral anticoagulation and 15 (5.5%) were on aspirin. The average duration of hospital stay was 19.1 ± 16.7 days, without a significant difference between the A and NA groups (19.4 ± 12 vs 18.8 ± 13.8 days; p = 0.79, respectively). Total mortality rate was 17%, with a significant difference between the A and NA groups (26 vs 10%; p = 0.001). Conclusion This preliminary study showed a high prevalence of anaemia in patients with heart failure, and it had a negative effect on the prognosis.

Studies suggest that poor adherence to hypertension treatment is responsible for about two-thirds of uncontrolled hypertension, leading to complications such as stroke. Yet, patients-associated factors explaining poor adherence to antihypertensive treatment in Africa remains under-researched. This study aimed at assessing the level of compliance in hypertensive patients and identifying patients-related predictors of poor compliance. The study was a prospective cross-sectional. The data was collected during a six-month period. Participants were recruited from outpatients’ departments in three urban hospitals in Congo-Brazzaville. Bivariate and multivariate analyses (using T-test and chi-2) were performed to identify predictors of poor compliance. In total, 212 hypertensive patients were included. Their mean age was 58.3 ± 10.6 years (range 34 – 81). Compliance was poor in 69 (32.5%) and good or fair in 143 cases (67.5%). Bivariate analysis indicated several patient-related factors that could predict poor adherence. However, after adjustment by logistic regression, only knowledge of the treatment and perception of the severity of complications of hypertension showed statistically significant associations with poor compliance (p =0.0170 and p=0.0373 respectively). Efforts to enhance patients’ awareness about hypertension’s treatment and severity of the complications associated with the disease are called for in this particular context.