Religiosity index and quality of life in the search for better blood pressure control

Systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) is a chronic non-communicable disease, and currently the relationships between religiosity, physical and mental health have been investigated. The objective of this study was to verify the association of the religiosity index through the DUREL scale with the best control of blood pressure (SBP ≤ 120 and DBP ≤ 80) and quality of life in hypertensive patients. A prospective longitudinal study was conducted with 56 hypertensive patients, who were followed up for 120 days and underwent a 20-day interval nursing visit, in which a counseling program was developed. The instrument for quality of life, the DUREL Religiosity Scale, was applied and Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitor (ABPM) was performed at the beginning and end of the study. The study involved 30 women (55.6%) and 26 men (44.4%), mean age of 53.9 ± 10 years, mean BMI of 30.3±5 kg/m2, waist circumference (WC)=99.7±5cm; PAS=153.6±28mmHg; DBP=91.6±17mmHg and Heart Rate (HR)=69±13bpm. Regarding BP control (SBP ≤ 120 and DBP ≤ 80), at the end of 120 days, it was observed that only 4 (7.14%) patients controlled their BP by the clinic’s measurement and 25 patients by the measurement of the ABPM, those being 7 (12.5%) in the wake period and 18 (32.1%) in the sleep period. However, there was no association with the Index of Religiosity and quality of life when compared to the control variable of blood pressure. Given the data, it was determined that the religiosity index was not sensitive enough to identify patients with a better control of BP after 120 days of follow-up.