Nonadherence to Antihypertensive Medication Among Hypertensive Adults in the United States─HealthStyles, 2010.

Nonadherence, or not taking medications as prescribed, to antihypertensive medications has been associated with uncontrolled hypertension. The authors analyzed data from HealthStyles 2010 to assess medication nonadherence among adults with hypertension. The overall prevalence of hypertension was 27.4% and the prevalence of nonadherence was 30.5% among hypertensive adult respondents. Nonadherence rates were highest among younger adults (aged 18-44 years), Hispanics, those who reported lowest annual income (<$25,000), and those who reported depression. The most common reason stated for nonadherence was "I cannot afford the medication" (35.1%). A multivariate logistic regression model showed age, race, and household income to be associated with nonadherence. These findings suggest that certain subgroups are more likely to report barriers to adherence. Interventions to support the management of hypertension should consider the identification of certain at-risk subgroups and utilize community and clinical evidenced-based resources to improve long-term control.

Putative association of the single nucleotide polymorphisms in RASSF1A promoter with Korean lung cancer.

SUMMARY: The RASSF1 gene, a putative tumor suppressor gene located on human chromosome 3p21, has attracted a great deal of attention because of frequent allelic loss and gene silencing via promoter hypermethylation in a variety of human malignancies. To evaluate the role of RASSF1A gene in lung cancer risk, genotypes of the RASSF1A promoter region (-710 C>T and -392T>C) were determined in 410 lung cancer patients and 410 normal subjects. Furthermore, to examine potential effects of the common haplotypes (C-C, T-T and C-T haplotypes) on RASSF1A transcription, luciferase reporter assays were performed in H2009 and H358 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines. We found that ht2 C-T haplotype was associated with susceptibility to the risk of lung cancer in dominant (odds ratio (OR): 0.69; 95% CI: 0.46-0.99) model. In particular, we found that C-T haplotype showed a decreased risk of lung cancer in males (codominant OR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.38-0.93 and dominant OR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.35-0.96) and in smokers (codominant OR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.36-0.93 and dominant OR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.33-0.96). Interestingly, C-T haplotype induced transcriptional activity by 50-60% compared with other haplotypes in NSCLC cell lines. These results suggest that RASSF1A promoter polymorphisms affect RASSF1A expression, further contributing to the genetic susceptibility to lung cancer.