Treatment of hypertension and dyslipidemia or their combination among US managed-care patients.
The authors examined treatment rates in managed-care patients with hypertension (HTN) only or dyslipidemia (DYS) only compared with patients who had both (HTN+DYS). A retrospective, cross-sectional claims analysis was performed in a 2002 US national managed-care database of 1.23 million continuously eligible members aged 18 years or older. Median age was 44.0 years, 8.8% were aged 65 years or older, and 53.2% were women. Study criteria identified 354,324 patients, 32.9% with HTN only, 34.7% with DYS only, and 32.4% with HTN+DYS. Overall, 49.7% of HTN patients had DYS and 48.3% of DYS patients had HTN. Patients with HTN+DYS were significantly older, more likely to have cardiovascular comorbidities, and more likely to use medications and hospital facilities than were patients with HTN only or DYS only (P<.01). About two-thirds of patients with HTN only received 1 or more prescription for an antihypertensive medication, compared with three-quarters of those with HTN+DYS. Fewer than half of patients with DYS only and approximately two-thirds with HTN+DYS received a cholesterol-lowering agent.
Dutro
Michael P
MP
Pfizer Inc, New York, NY, USA. michael.dutro@pfizer.com
Gerthoffer
Tracey D
TD
Peterson
Eric D
ED
Tang
Simon S K
SS
Goldberg
George A
GA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology