Dr. Deyessa, Negussie (MD, Ph.D.)Alemayehu, Senait2021-02-112023-11-052021-02-112023-11-052020-10http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/25063Background: Hypertension is a global public health problem. In developing countries, the high prevalence of hypertension followed by poor hypertension control remains a significant public health challenge. The brain is one of the main target organs affected by hypertension, excluding age hypertension is the most important risk factor for cerebrovascular pathology leading to cognitive function impairment. However, the level of antihypertensive medication adherence among hypertension patients and the difference in the development of cognitive function impairment is not well studied. Objective: This study aimed to assess the association between medication adherence and cognitive function impairment among hypertensive patients in Mekelle, northern Ethiopia from April to September 2020 G.C. Method: An unmatched case-control study design was conducted in the selected health facilities in Mekelle, Ethiopia from April to September 2020. The study population was hypertensive patients, aged 60 years and above and who have been on antihypertensive medications for at least 6 months. A sample size of 106 cases and 106 controls were included in the study, participants with cognitive function impairment were considered as cases, and participants without cognitive function impairment were controls. The data collection was done twice and the data were collected by reviewing the medical chart of patients and interviewer-administered questionnaire, by trained data collectors. Mini-Mental State Examination was used to assess the cognition status of the study participants and to assess the antihypertensive medication adherence, Morisky Medication Adherence Scale was used. The collected questionnaires were entered into Epi data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 23 for cleaning and further analysis. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression was used for analysis. An adjusted odds ratio along with a 95% confidence interval and a p-value of < 0.05 was used for declaring statistical significance. Result: The prevalence of medication adherence was found to be 34(32.1%) among cases and 84(79.2%) among controls. Medication adherence was independently significantly associated to cognitive function impairment with [AOR =7.77, 95% CI: (3.44 -17.24)]. The odds of cognitive function impairment was 7.7 times more among antihypertensive medication non-adherent participants compared to those who were adherent. Marital status and educational status were also found to be significantly associated with cognitive function impairment Conclusion and recommendation: There is an association between antihypertensive medication adherence and cognitive function impairment after controlling for possible confounders. Further work needs to be done by the health professionals on informing patients about the consequences of elevated and/ or uncontrolled BP and on the benefits of medication adherence and the consequences of non-adherence.en-USHypertensive patientsThesis