title: [Should we perform long-term cohort studies on the use of antihypertensive agents?].
abstract: The 1-year PMS Carduran study included more than 4,500 hypertensive patients treated by more than 600 general practitioners. The objective was to study side effects and treatment efficiency. The Research Board of General Practitioners has criticised this and similar PMS studies because they tend to serve marketing purposes and are of low scientific value. It is argued in this paper that large independent prospective pharmaco-epidemiological studies, if well performed, may provide important information on the use (and possibly misuse) of new drugs in general practice, information which may not be known prior to registration. Also, the great potential in providing long term information on disease prognosis is underlined. An example of a 5-year study of Carduran-treated hypertensive patients is outlined.
authors.affiliation: Livsforsikringsselskapenes Medisinsk-Statistiske Institutt, Ullevål sykehus, Oslo.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Holme
mesh_terms: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005194:Family Practice; D006801:Humans; D009664:Norway; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents
vernacular_title: Skal vi gjøre langtids kohortestudier om bruken av antihypertensiva?