May 1, 1995Hypertension
Trends in Medication Choices for Hypertension in the Elderly
Why the study?
What are the trends and factors associated with the choice of antihypertensive therapy in elderly patients?
Population
8,428 enrollees older than 65 years of age in the New Jersey Medicaid and Medicare programs newly begun on…
Design
Cohort
Authors
Discussion
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Implication
Diuretic initiation as first-line therapy declined sharply in the late 1980s, strongly patterned by age, sex, and race; this observational trend leaves open the role of non-evidence factors in prescribing.
Structured PICO
What are the trends and factors associated with the choice of antihypertensive therapy in elderly patients?
P
Population
8,428 enrollees older than 65 years of age in the New Jersey Medicaid and Medicare programs newly begun on antihypertensive therapy between 1982 and 1988.
I
Intervention
Antihypertensive therapy (diuretics, calcium channel blockers, beta-blockers, central adrenergic antagonists, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors)
O
Outcome
Trends in choice of antihypertensive therapy and factors associated with prescribing
Despite growing evidence of their efficacy, the use of diuretics as initial antihypertensive therapy in the elderly declined significantly between 1982 and 1988, with prescribing choices strongly influenced by patient demographics.
Cite This Study
Monane et al. (1995) studied this question.