title: Patterns of finasteride use in the male populations of four Nordic countries: A cross-national drug utilization study.
abstract: Objective Finasteride 5 mg is a drug used to treat prostate hyperplasia. Little is known about its pattern of usage. This cross-national analysis of individual-level data from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden was undertaken to appraise its usage and describe cross-national differences. Materials and methods Individual-level data from nationwide prescription registers in Denmark (1995-2009), Finland (1997-2010), Norway (2004-2009) and Sweden (July 2005-2011) were used to examine cross-national finasteride utilization patterns in the adult male population (≥15 years). The study presents period prevalences, incidence rates, waiting time distributions and Lorenz curves. Results During the study period, 295,620 men had at least one prescription redemption of finasteride 5 mg, and there were approximately 3 million dispensing events of finasteride prescriptions in the four Nordic countries. Different patterns of finasteride use were observed among the four Nordic countries. The period prevalence was markedly higher in Finland and Sweden than in Denmark and Norway. In 2009, period prevalences were 18.2/1000 males in Finland and 12.0/1000 males in Sweden compared to 6.7/1000 males in Norway and 4.9/1000 males in Denmark. Incidence rates of finasteride use for Finland, Norway and Sweden were about three times that for Denmark in 2008-2009. Long-term use of finasteride was found in all four Nordic countries with a high ratio between prevalent and incident users. Conclusion Despite resemblances regarding political systems and healthcare services in the Nordic countries, differences in finasteride utilization were found across Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
authors.affiliation: a Research Programme on Adult Health and Health-related Behaviour, National Institute of Public Health , University of Southern Denmark , Copenhagen , Denmark ;
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Kjærulff
authors.affiliation: a Research Programme on Adult Health and Health-related Behaviour, National Institute of Public Health , University of Southern Denmark , Copenhagen , Denmark ;
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Ersbøll
authors.affiliation: b OPEN (Odense Patient data Exploratory Network), Odense University Hospital/University of Southern Denmark , Odense , Denmark ;|c Institute of Applied Economics and Health Research , Copenhagen , Denmark ;
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: c Institute of Applied Economics and Health Research , Copenhagen , Denmark ;
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Emneus
authors.affiliation: d School of Health Sciences , University of Tampere , Tampere , Finland ;
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pukkala
authors.affiliation: e Centre for Health Economics and Department of Economics with Statistics , University of Gothenburg , Gothenburg , Sweden ;
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bolin
authors.affiliation: f Department of Pulmonary Medicine , Akershus University Hospital , Lørenskog , Norway ;|g Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine , University of Oslo , Oslo , Norway ;
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stavem
authors.affiliation: h Copenhagen Prostate Cancer Center, Department of Urology, Rigshospitalet , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark ;
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Iversen
authors.affiliation: h Copenhagen Prostate Cancer Center, Department of Urology, Rigshospitalet , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark ;
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brasso
authors.affiliation: i Institute of Public Health, Clinical Pharmacology Unit , University of Southern Denmark , Odense , Denmark.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hallas
authors.affiliation: a Research Programme on Adult Health and Health-related Behaviour, National Institute of Public Health , University of Southern Denmark , Copenhagen , Denmark ;
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Thygesen
mesh_terms: D058891:5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000368:Aged; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018120:Finasteride / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012537:Scandinavian and Nordic Countries
chemical_list: D058891:5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors; D018120:Finasteride
keywords: Benign prostatic hyperplasia; Nordic countries; cross-national; drug utilization; finasteride; pharmacoepidemiology