Hypertensive patients from two rural Chinese counties respond differently to benazepril: the Anhui Hypertension Health Care Study.
OBJECTIVE
Essential hypertension, as a complex disorder with unknown etiology cause, is a major public health problem worldwide. Patients need constant drug therapy to maintain their blood pressure in a normal range. However, the current facts suggest that the treatment is not optimized in a large number of patients, and as a result they are at risk for compliance resulting in uncontrolled blood pressure. Genetic and environmental factors associated with individual variation in response to anti-hypertensive drug remain largely unknown.


METHODS
In order to illustrate the existence and to attempt to identify the factors modifying drug effect, we conducted a large-scale follow-up study in two Chinese rural counties differing in both genetic background and residential environment. Hypertensive patients were treated with benazepril, a commonly used angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, for 15 days, and the end-point effect was evaluated.


RESULTS
We found that there were large and significant differences in drug response between subjects from two counties, even after adjustment for known factors. The responses to benazepril, measured in diastolic blood pressure drop, in male patients from Yuexi was twice as effective as their counterparts from Huoqiu.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that adjustment of treatment regimen is necessary to improve efficacy, and it could be done at the population level to make it more feasible and affordable.
Li
Dong
D
School of Life Science, University of Science and Technology in China, Hefei, China.
Xing
Houxun
H
Hao
Ke
K
Peng
Shaojie
S
Wu
Di
D
Guang
Wenwei
W
Huang
Aiqun
A
Wang
Yuanping
Y
Zhang
Yan
Y
Yu
Yunxian
Y
Li
Jianping
J
Chen
Changzhong
C
Wang
Binyan
B
Zhu
Guoying
G
Huo
Yong
Y
Chen
Dafang
D
Ronnenberg
Alayne
A
Niu
Tianhua
T
Xu
Xiping
X
D000328:Adult; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001552:Benzazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017891:Pharmacoepidemiology; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D001552:Benzazepines; C044946:benazepril