Sexual functioning, health beliefs, and compliance with high blood pressure medications.

This study compared sexual functioning in 84 hypertensive subjects enrolled in an inner city hypertensive program with a matched group of 84 nonhypertensive subjects attending ambulatory care. Using the Sexual Functioning Questionnaire (SFQ), hypertensive subjects achieved lower levels of sexual functioning than nonhypertensive subjects (F = 21.60, df = 1/164, p less than .001). The 84 hypertensive subjects were categorized according to drug regimen (simple, moderate, and complex) and diastolic blood pressure measurement (DBP) (controlled and uncontrolled). Health beliefs of both sexes, relationship between type of drug regimen and sexual functioning, and association between self-report compliance and sexual functioning were examined. In the health belief survey, males reported a greater frequency of drug-induced sex problems than females (p less than .01), use of a complex drug regimen was associated with low level of sexual functioning (p les than .01), and type of self-report compliance was not related to level of sexual functioning. Hydrochlorothiazide, propranolol, and hydralazine were used by 80 percent, 43 percent, and 20 percent of clients. Self-report compliance was significantly related to controlled DBP (p less than .001).