Key result
Sales and prescriptions of antihypertensive drugs increased 50 to 200% over 10 years in seven European countries, with utilization patterns showing no co-variation with cardiovascular mortality.
Observational
Yes
Antihypertensive drug utilization increased significantly over 10 years in seven European countries, but these patterns did not correlate with cardiovascular mortality or lifestyle factors like alcohol and tobacco sales.
Rising antihypertensive use without mortality correlation warrants cautious interpretation; leaves open real-world effectiveness questions in observational data.
There is a reasonable agreement between defined daily doses (DDDs) and prescribed daily doses (PDDs) of antihypertensive drugs, at least in Norway and Sweden. Sales and prescriptions of antihypertensive drugs in seven European countries (CSSR, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Norway and Sweden) have increased 50 to 200% during the last 10 years. The drug statistics also illustrate marked qualitative and quantitative differences in the utilization of antihypertensive drugs between these seven European countries. Mortality in cardiovascular diseases also differs between these countries, particularly between Northern Ireland and Finland and the other countries. So do sales of alcohol and tobacco. However, none of these factors seem to co-vary with drug utilization.
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Ingebjørg Baksaas (1984) conducted an observational in Hypertension. Antihypertensive drugs was evaluated on Drug utilization and cardiovascular mortality. Sales and prescriptions of antihypertensive drugs increased 50 to 200% over 10 years in seven European countries, with utilization patterns showing no co-variation with cardiovascular mortality.
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