title: Hypertension-associated expenditures for medication among US adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We sought to estimate how much the presence of hypertension adds to annual per capita and total expenditures for medication among US adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample included 21,782 civilian noninstitutionalized adults aged ≥ 18 years who participated in the 2007 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Hypertension was defined as having a diagnosis of high blood pressure (except during pregnancy) or taking a blood pressure medication. We used a 2-part model to examine all-cause medication expenditure associated with hypertension.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of hypertension was 32.2%. Overall, 66.7% of adults purchased prescribed medications, with this proportion higher among hypertensive (93.0%) than normotensive (54.4%) adults (P < 0.001). Hypertensive adults were more likely to have medication expenditures than were normotensive adults (odds ratio (OR) = 6.42; P < 0.001). Among hypertensive adults, those aged ≥ 45 years were more likely to incur medication expenditure than those aged 18-44 years (OR = 3.00, P < 0.001 for those aged 45-64 years; OR = 5.95, P < 0.001 for those aged ≥ 65 years), whereas women were 2.91 times as likely as men to have medication spending (P < 0.001). Hispanics were less likely than non-Hispanic whites to have such spending (OR = 0.51; P < 0.001). Among those purchasing medications, the average cost was $1,510 higher among hypertensive persons ($2,337) than normotensive persons ($827). Hypertension-associated expenditures for medication were estimated at $68 billion in the US civilian non-institutionalized population in 2007.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presence of hypertension among US adults is associated with an increase of all-cause expenditures for medication, with this increase varying across groups by age and sex.
authors.affiliation: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia. gbw9@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Guijing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Carma
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ayala
authors.affiliation: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Mary G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: George
authors.affiliation: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents
keywords: blood pressure; drug cost; economics; high blood pressure; hypertension.