This study found a concerning nonadherence rate of 94.1% to antihypertensive medication among hypertensive adults in eastern Sudan during the ongoing war, with urban residence being the only factor independently associated with nonadherence.
The vast majority of hypertensive patients in eastern Sudan were nonadherent to their antihypertensive medications.
Urban residence was the only factor independently associated with nonadherence to antihypertensive medication.
The study sample was predominantly female with a median age of 53 years.
This study represents the first published data on adherence to antihypertensives among hypertensive patients in Sudan.
The authors concluded that targeted interventions addressing barriers to medication adherence are needed, particularly in urban areas of eastern Sudan.
This research found that an extraordinarily high proportion — 94.1% — of adults being treated for high blood pressure (hypertension) at a hospital in eastern Sudan were not taking their medications as prescribed. Out of 474 patients studied, fewer than 30 were considered adherent to their treatment. The study is notable because it is the first of its kind to examine medication adherence among hypertensive patients in Sudan, and it was conducted during an active war, which likely contributed to the challenging environment for managing chronic disease. The researchers investigated whether factors like age, sex, education level, income, duration of hypertension, number of medications, or the presence of other health conditions were linked to poor adherence, but none of these factors showed a statistically significant association. The only factor that independently predicted nonadherence was living in an urban area, where residents were about 2.4 times more likely to be nonadherent compared to rural residents. This counterintuitive finding may reflect disruptions in urban supply chains, displacement, or other war-related stressors disproportionately affecting cities. This research suggests that the rate of medication nonadherence in this conflict-affected region is far higher than typically reported in other settings globally, pointing to a serious public health challenge. Uncontrolled high blood pressure significantly raises the risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease, so this level of nonadherence could have severe consequences for this population. The findings highlight the urgent need for targeted programs to help patients in this region — especially in urban areas — access and consistently take their blood pressure medications.
Younis R, Ali M, Hassan A, Adam I, Omar S. (2026). Poor adherence to antihypertensive medication in patients with hypertension in eastern Sudan: A cross-sectional study.. Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000050736