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The impact of routine follow-up with health care teams on blood pressure control among patients with hypertension

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 33, pages 466–474 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

A series of guidelines concerning hypertension emphasize the importance of follow-up in patients’ management. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of routine follow-up on blood pressure (BP) control. A total of 1511 patients with hypertension aged ≥ 35 years were selected randomly from 17 communities in two cities and four townships located in Shandong and Jiangsu provinces in China. About half of the patients visited the community clinic four or more times yearly; follow-up was conducted by telephone for 43.3%. Forty-four point two percent of patients who did not visit a community clinic received telephonic follow-up; a higher percentage of telephonic follow-up was found in patients who visited community clinics frequently. Positive changes in BP level and BP control were associated with the number of clinical visits, while no significant correlations were found with telephonic follow-up. After adjustment for covariates, a higher number of clinic visits was associated with better BP control, with odds ratios of 1.628 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.141–2.322), 1.472 (95% CI: 1.008–2.271), and 1.790 (95% CI: 1.154–2.778) for 4–6, 7–12, and >12 visits/year, respectively. Taking an antihypertensive drug showed a strong, positive association with the number of clinic visits (OR 1.747, 95% CI: 1.484–2.056). These data suggest that health care systems may achieve greater success by increasing the frequency of clinical visits and that the positive changes may be related to improvement in medication adherence. Routine follow-up by telephone was not significantly associated with BP level and BP control.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the staff of the Community Health Service Centers and CDC in Shandong and Jiangsu province for their assistance and their organizational support. We also thank Richard Lipkin, PhD, from Liwen Bianji, Edanz Group China (www.liwenbianji.cn/ac), for editing the English text of a draft of this manuscript.

Funding

This publication (journal article, etc.) was supported by the Cooperative Agreement Number, 5 U19 GH 000636, funded by The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Hui-Juan Zuo, Ji-Xiang Ma

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, Capital Medical University, 100029, Beijing, China

    Hui-Juan Zuo & Jin-Wen Wang

  2. Department of Chronic Non-communicable Diseases Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 100050, Beijing, China

    Ji-Xiang Ma, Xiao-Rong Chen & Lei Hou

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  1. Hui-Juan Zuo
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Correspondence to Hui-Juan Zuo.

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Zuo, HJ., Ma, JX., Wang, JW. et al. The impact of routine follow-up with health care teams on blood pressure control among patients with hypertension. J Hum Hypertens 33, 466–474 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-018-0158-7

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