A cost minimization model for the treatment of minor bleeding episodes in patients with haemophilia A and high-titre inhibitors.

Treatment of acute bleeding episodes in patients with haemophilia A and inhibitory antibodies to factor VIII (FVIII) most often involves the use of bypassing haemostatic agents, such as activated prothrombin complex concentrates (aPCC) or recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa). We constructed a cost minimization model to compare the costs of initial treatment with aPCC vs. rFVIIa in the home treatment of minor bleeding episodes. We developed a clinical scenario describing such a case and presented it to a panel of US haemophilia specialists. For each product class, we asked panellists to provide dosing regimens required to achieve complete resolution of a minor haemarthrosis in a child with high-titre inhibitors, and for the probabilities of success at two time points (8-12 and 24 h). Consensus among the panellists was refined by a second round of the process, and the median values resulting were used as inputs to a decision analysis model. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to determine threshold values for key variables. The base case model found that initial treatment with aPCC would result in a mean cost per episode of 21 000 dollars, compared with 33 400 dollars for initial treatment with rFVIIa. Sensitivity analyses over a range of clinically plausible values for cost, dosing, and efficacy did not change the selection of aPCC as the dominant strategy.

The economic impact of factor VIII inhibitors in patients with haemophilia.

The impact on the cost of care for haemophilia patients with inhibitors is not well defined. To quantify the effect on health care expenditures associated with inhibitors to factor VIII (FVIII) or FIX, we conducted a retrospective cohort study examining product use and outcomes in adult and paediatric haemophilia patients with and without inhibitors. Twelve patients with inhibitors to FVIII or FIX (cases) identified in the haemophilia surveillance system (HSS) at two centres were matched on age, severity of haemophilia, and treatment centre to haemophilia patients without inhibitors. Patients with HIV or significant liver disease were excluded from the study. All eligible non-inhibitor control patients were selected for inclusion in the study, resulting in a total of 28 controls. We then tracked product usage and hospitalizations from programme entry until 1998 or loss to follow-up, producing a total database of 184 person-years of experience. A descriptive matched analysis was conducted to examine annual differences in the cost of product used and hospitalizations. We found that the median cost for factor products among haemophilia patients with inhibitors was $55,853/year, $2,760 less than comparable haemophilia patients without inhibitors. The median number of hospitalizations per year was 1.0 for both inhibitor and non-inhibitor patients and the median number of days hospitalized was virtually the same. Although these findings do not appear to support the belief that there is a substantial increase in the cost of care for haemophilia patients with inhibitors, it does document that a few outlier patients can drive the cost of treatment for this disease. As the largest component of the cost of care is that of factor concentrate, it becomes imperative in the current health care environment to better define the true costs and benefits of treatments designed to eradicate or manage inhibitors. A careful cost accounting of immune tolerance induction (ITI) and other therapeutic strategies, taking into account successes and failures and duration and intensity of therapy, should help to better define the costs and benefits of such approaches. Methods to identify high cost inhibitor patients should be developed so that these strategies may be targeted to appropriate candidates.

Field-specific visual-evoked potentials: identifying field defects in vigabatrin-treated children.

OBJECTIVE: To derive a visual-evoked potential (VEP) technique for identifying visual field defects in children with epilepsy treated with vigabatrin and unable to perform perimetry. BACKGROUND: Studies have linked vigabatrin to a specific pattern of visual field loss. Few studies have included the pediatric population because of difficulties in assessing the visual field by perimetry below a developmental age of 9 years. METHODS: A field-specific VEP was developed with a central (0 degrees to 5 degrees radius) and peripheral stimulus (30 degrees to 60 degrees radius). Stimuli consisted of black and white checks that increased in size with eccentricity. Checks reversed at different rates, allowing separate central and peripheral responses to be recorded. Five vigabatrin-treated young adults with field defects were identified using this stimulus. Electroretinograms (ERG) were recorded to examine the effects of vigabatrin on retinal function. Thirty-nine children aged 3 to 15 years were included in the study. Twelve patients were examined by both the field-specific stimulus test and perimetry. The diagnostic performance of the field-specific stimulus test was compared with that of perimetry. RESULTS: Thirty-five of 39 children complied with the field-specific stimulus, 26 of 39 complied with the ERG, and 12 of 39 complied with perimetry. Using the summed amplitude of the peripheral response from O(2) and O(1), responses below 10 microV were deemed abnormal. The field-specific stimulus identified 3 of 4 abnormal perimetry results and 7 of 8 normal perimetry results, giving a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 87.5%. When comparing perimetry results with the ERG parameters, only the 30-Hz flicker amplitude, with a cutoff below 70 microV, gave a useful indication of visual field loss. CONCLUSION: Field-specific VEP are well tolerated by children older than 2 years of age and are sensitive and specific in identifying vigabatrin-associated peripheral field defects.

Porcine factor VIII: pharmacoeconomics of inhibitor therapy.

The treatment of acquired haemophilia is characteristically exceedingly expensive and thus a cost-benefit analysis of the several available treatment strategies is urgently needed. To address this issue, decision-analysis techniques were used to construct a cost-minimization model to compare the cost of treatment with porcine factor VIII (pFVIII), human FVIII (hFVIII) or an activated prothrombin complex concentrate (APCC). This model was based upon the results of a comprehensive literature search of all relevant clinical studies and case series. To supplement these data, a panel of haemophilia specialists was presented with a clinical scenario describing an acquired haemophilia patient with an acute haemorrhage in whom the human and porcine inhibitor titres were initially unknown. Based on this scenario and on their own clinical experience, the expert panel assessed the applicability of the model as initially constructed, assigned probabilities of success to each treatment and recommended appropriate initial dosing and follow-up regimens. This information was incorporated into the model and a simulation was conducted from which the costs of care were calculated. Sensitivity analyses were then conducted on all parameters. The results of the model show that treatment initiated with pFVIII would be more cost effective compared with treatment sequences initiated with an APCC or hFVIII, respectively. The model indicates that initial treatment with pFVIII in this scenario may be the preferred strategy clinically, as well as on economic grounds.

Predictors of uncontrolled hypertension in ambulatory patients.

Hypertension remains poorly controlled in the United States. Improvement of its management will require an understanding of the patient characteristics and treatment factors associated with uncontrolled hypertension. We studied antihypertensive medication use, comorbidity, and blood pressure measurements for 525 hypertensive patients in 3 different healthcare systems over a 1-year period. We concomitantly conducted comprehensive patient interviews covering demographic factors, knowledge of hypertension and its treatment, and medication side effects. Ordinal logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with poor blood pressure control. Mean age of the patients was 65+/-11 years. Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 143+/-15 mm Hg; and mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP), 80+/-9 mm Hg. Only 39% (203/525) of patients had mean blood pressure <140/90 mm Hg during the study period; about half (257/525) had stage 1 hypertension (mean SBP 140 to 159 mm Hg and/or mean DBP 90 to 99 mm Hg), and 12% (65/525) had stage 2 or greater hypertension (SBP >160 mm Hgand/or DBP >100 mm Hg). Multivariate analysis revealed several independent predictors of poor control: older age, multi-drug regimens, lack of knowledge by the patient of their target SBP, and a report of antihypertensive drug side effects. Patients with angina had a higher likelihood of adequate blood pressure control. Fewer than 40% of the treated patients studied had a mean blood pressure

Hazardous benzodiazepine regimens in the elderly: effects of half-life, dosage, and duration on risk of hip fracture.

OBJECTIVE: While benzodiazepine treatment is known to increase the risk of hip fracture in older populations, controversy persists over which characteristics of benzodiazepine use (e.g., elimination half-life, dosage, duration of use) are most associated with such risks. METHOD: The authors reviewed the health care utilization data of 1,222 hip fracture patients and 4,888 comparison patients frequency matched on the basis of age and gender (all were at least 65 years old). Patients were enrolled in Medicare as well as in the New Jersey Medicaid or Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled programs. Benzodiazepine use, as well as other covariates, were assessed before the index date (which was either the date of hospital admission for hip fracture surgical repair or, for the comparison subjects, a randomly assigned, frequency-matched date). RESULTS: All benzodiazepine doses > or =3 mg/day in diazepam equivalents significantly increased the adjusted risk of hip fracture by 50%. Significantly increased adjusted risks of hip fracture were seen during the initial 2 weeks of use (60% increase) and after more than 1 month of continuous use (80% increase) but not for 2-4 weeks of continuous use. Use of benzodiazepines other than long-acting agents significantly increased the risk of hip fracture by 50%. CONCLUSIONS: Even at modest doses, including some low doses currently advocated in prescribing guidelines for older patients, treatment with benzodiazepines appears to increase the risk of hip fracture. Patients appear to be particularly vulnerable immediately after initiating therapy and after more than 1 month of continuous use. Benzodiazepines with shorter half-lives appear to be no safer than longer half-life agents. Clinicians should be aware of these risks and weigh them against potential benefits when prescribing for elderly patients.

Zolpidem use and hip fractures in older people.

OBJECTIVES: The widespread use of sedative-hypnotics in older populations makes it imperative to identify hazardous regimens that should be avoided and safer regimens that may be used preferentially by older people. Although benzodiazepines have been shown to increase fall and fracture risk, zolpidem, a nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic, has been advocated as a safer alternative. DESIGN: Case-control study of hip fracture cases and controls in 1994. SETTING: All subjects were age 65 and older and enrolled in Medicare, and in Medicaid or the Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled program of New Jersey. PARTICIPANTS: Cases (n=1,222) were patients who underwent surgical repair of a hip fracture. They were frequency-matched to four controls (n=4,888) based on age and gender. MEASUREMENTS: Use of sedative-hypnotics and other medications was assessed in the 180 days before the index event. We assessed other covariates, including demographic, clinical, and healthcare utilization variables in the prior 180 days. RESULTS: Zolpidem use was associated with a significant increased risk of hip fracture (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.95; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.09-3.51). Other psychotropic medication classes with significantly increased risks included benzodiazepines (AOR 1.46; 95% CI=1.21-1.76), antipsychotic medications (AOR 1.61; 95% CI=1.29-2.01), and antidepressants (AOR 1.46; 95% CI=1.22-1.75). In subanalyses, preferential use of zolpidem by subjects at greater risk of hip fracture did not appear to explain the apparent risk of hip fracture with zolpidem use. CONCLUSION: Use of zolpidem by older people was associated with nearly twice the risk of hip fracture, even after controlling for possible demographic and clinical confounders. Rather than being a safer alternative, zolpidem may be associated with risks that are as great as those seen with conventional benzodiazepines in older patients.

Adherence to guidelines for oral anticoagulation after venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

OBJECTIVE: Guidelines for oral anticoagulation after deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) have recommended that patients be anticoagulated for at least 3 months after hospital discharge. We sought to determine whether this recommendation was being followed and what patient characteristics predict a shorter than recommended duration of therapy. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study using linked health care claims data. SETTING: Routine clinical practice. PATIENTS: Five hundred seventy-three members of New Jersey's Medicaid or Pharmacy Assistance for the Aged and Disabled programs aged 65 years and older who were hospitalized for DVT or PE between January 1, 1991 and June 30, 1994. RESULTS: Of the 573 patients, 129 (23%) filled prescriptions covering less than 90 days of oral anticoagulant therapy. In multivariate models, African-American race was associated with an increased risk of a shorter than recommended duration of therapy (odds ratio [OR], 1.87; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14 to 3.08), but age and gender were not. Patients who used anticoagulants in the year prior to admission were less likely to have a short duration of therapy (OR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.12 to 0.78), than were patients with PE (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.38 to 0.88). CONCLUSIONS: Nearly a quarter of those anticoagulated following DVT or PE received therapy for less than the recommended length of time after hospital discharge, with African Americans more likely to have a shorter than recommended course of treatment. Further research is needed to evaluate the causes of shorter than recommended duration of therapy and racial disparities in anticoagulant use.

Immune tolerance induction in hemophilia patients with inhibitors: costly can be cheaper.

The development of inhibitory antibodies to factor VIII (FVIII) occurs in approximately 30% to 40% of patients with severe hemophilia A. Management options for patients with inhibitor include eradicating it via immune tolerance induction (ITI) or treating bleeding episodes with large quantities of hemostatic agents. ITI is costly, approaching $1 million for the average 5-year-old, but if successful results in improved clinical outcomes. We constructed a decision analysis using the Markov process to model expected clinical outcomes and costs over a lifetime for a typical 5-year-old hemophiliac with high inhibitor levels. Estimates of relevant variables were based on a thorough review of the medical literature. Outcomes modeled included total lifetime costs as well as life expectancy. The decision analytic model revealed that the ITI strategy was associated with an increase in projected life expectancy of 4.6 years. Total estimated lifetime costs for the ITI strategy were approximately $1.7 million less per patient. Sensitivity analyses over clinically and economically reasonable ranges did not change these findings. The insight that ITI can achieve an improved clinical outcome while being cost-saving is not reflected in many current treatment regimens. This example also illustrates that expensive therapy for patients with a chronic disease may be cost effective when analyzed from a societal perspective over the patient's lifetime. This finding has important policy implications for medical decision makers at many levels and reinforces the need to undertake pharmacoeconomic analyses and choose therapies from a long-term, societal perspective. (Blood. 2000;96:1698-1702)

Which patients are treated for glaucoma? An observational analysis.

PURPOSE: More than one million patients in the United States are treated for glaucoma, although little is known about the typical clinical characteristics of this group of patients and the type of therapy they receive. This study was conducted to describe the demographic and diagnostic characteristics of patients beginning long-term drug therapy for glaucoma. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 544 patients beginning topical glaucoma medication regimens who received care at a group model health-maintenance organization (HMO) located in central Massachusetts. The primary medical records of 544 patients beginning topical glaucoma medication between 1987 and 1990 were reviewed to ascertain the presence of three clinical findings: intraocular pressure (IOP) > or = 22 mmHg; optic disc changes including cup-to-disc ratio > or = 0.8, cup-to-disc asymmetry > or = 0.2, or morphologic disc changes consistent with glaucomatous optic neuropathy; and visual field defect consistent with glaucoma. RESULTS: A majority of the 544 patients (86%) were diagnosed as having primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) by their physicians. Almost half (44.7%) of these patients had only an elevation in IOP without other clinical findings, and 9% met none of the above criteria for glaucoma according to information in the medical record. CONCLUSION: In this setting, most patients who were prescribed drug therapy for POAG were treated for an elevation in IOP alone in the absence of other ophthalmologic characteristics of glaucoma.

Probabilities, costs, and outcomes: methodological issues in modelling haemophilia treatment.

Economic analyses in haemophilia care are at present limited, but are increasingly being used to examine the costs and outcomes associated with various treatment regimens. The assignment of probabilities and costs in these models can be challenging, and the use and development of new quality-of-life instruments for haemophilia have yet to be fully investigated. These methodological issues need to be addressed to expand research in the area of the economics of haemophilia care.

Prophylactic use of factor VIII: an economic evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Since the introduction of exogenous factor VIII therapy, several studies have explored the clinical benefits of prophylactic use of factor VIII. Little research, though, has focused on the economic aspects of this regimen. We conducted a cost analysis using data from the Orthopedic Outcomes Study, a prospective, cross-national study of the clinical outcomes associated with different patterns of factor VIII utilization to examine the health care costs incurred and expenditures averted in patients receiving on-demand versus prophylactic use of factor VIII in hemophilia. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: 831 patients with severe hemophilia aged 1 to 31 years, from 19 centers around the world were included in the cost analysis. Patients were categorized into three groups according to the number of weeks during the study years in which they received prophylactic regimens of factor VIII. For each subject, we estimated the costs of hospitalization, surgery, days lost from school or work, and factor VIII utilization. Costs were then stratified by age and by joint score to assess confounding, and a multivariate model developed to determine the relationship between use of factor VIII prophylaxis and total costs, while controlling for potential confounders. RESULTS: Patients who received factor VIII episodically incurred substantially greater disability-related costs (days lost from school or work, days hospitalized due to hemophilia, surgery) than patients who received factor VIII prophylactically for some or all of the study period. For all treatment regimens, most disability-related costs were accounted for by hospitalization for hemophilia-related conditions. The cost of factor VIII itself was substantial in all treatment categories but was highest among patients who received year-round prophylaxis, exceeding the savings resulting from reduced disability and other health care expenditures. CONCLUSIONS: Reductions in non-factor health care costs and disability associated with prophylactic use of factor VIII in hemophilia were substantial and helped somewhat to offset the much higher costs of this regimen. For certain subgroups, frequent episodic treatment may be more expensive than full-time prophylaxis. However, because of the very high cost of year-round prophylactic use of factor VIII, total health care expenditures were highest among patients receiving this therapeutic regimen. However, because prophylaxis clearly offers important clinical benefits, this approach may be warranted on medical rather than economic grounds.

Persistence of use of lipid-lowering medications: a cross-national study.

CONTEXT: Although clinical trials have demonstrated the benefits of lipid-lowering therapy, little is known about how these drugs are prescribed or used in the general population. OBJECTIVE: To estimate predictors of persistence with therapy for lipid-lowering drug regimens in typical populations of patients in the United States and Canada. DESIGN: A cohort study defining all prescriptions filled for lipid-lowering drugs during 1 year, as well as patients' demographic and clinical characteristics. SETTING: New Jersey's Medicaid and Pharmacy Assistance for the Aged and Disabled programs and Quebec's provincial medical care program. PATIENTS: All continuously enrolled patients older than 65 years who filled 1 or more prescriptions for lipid-lowering drugs (N = 5611 in the US programs, and N = 1676 drawn from a 10% sample in Quebec). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of days during the study year for which patients had filled prescriptions for lipid-lowering drugs; predictors of good vs poor persistence with therapy. RESULTS: In both populations, patients failed to fill prescriptions for lipid-lowering drugs for about 40% of the study year. Persistence rates with 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors were significantly higher than those seen with cholestyramine (64.3% vs 36.6% of days with drug available, respectively). Patients with hypertension, diabetes, or coronary artery disease had significantly higher rates of persistence with lipid-lowering regimens. In New Jersey, multivariable analysis indicated that the poorest patients (those enrolled in Medicaid) had lower rates of drug use than less indigent patients (those enrolled in Pharmacy Assistance for the Aged and Disabled) after adjusting for possible confounders, despite virtually complete drug coverage in both programs. When rates of use were measured in the US population for the 5 years following the study year, only 52% of surviving patients who were initially prescribed lipid-lowering drugs were still filling prescriptions for this drug class. CONCLUSION: In all populations studied, patients who were prescribed lipid-lowering drug regimens remained without filled prescriptions for over a third of the study year on average. Rates of persistence varied substantially with choice of agent prescribed, comorbidity, and socioeconomic status, despite universal coverage of prescription drug costs. After 5 years, about half of the surviving original cohort in the United States had stopped using lipid-lowering therapy altogether.

Thiazide diuretics and the initiation of anti-gout therapy.

While physiologic and epidemiologic evidence link diuretic therapy with hyperuricemia, no previous study has quantified the risk for initiation of treatment specific for hyperuricemia or gout among elderly patients taking thiazide diuretics. We performed a retrospective cohort study of 9249 enrollees aged 65 or older in the New Jersey Medicaid program who were newly started on an antihypertensive medication from November 1981 through February 1989 and who had no prior use of anti-gout therapy (allopurinol, colchicine, or a uricosutic) during the preceding one-year period. We used Cox proportional hazards analysis to determine the risk for the initiation of anti-gout therapy in patients using various antihypertensive treatment regimens relative to no antihypertensive exposure. Patient follow-up extended for up to two years. Antihypertensive exposure was characterized over the entire period of follow-up according to the following categories: thiazide diuretic therapy alone; non-thiazide antihypertensive therapy; thiazide diuretic therapy in combination with any non-thiazide antihypertensive agent(s); and no antihypertensive use. Antihypertensive exposure was entered into the model as a time-varying covariate. Estimates of risk were adjusted for age, sex, race, nursing home residence, number of prescriptions filled, intensity of physician use, hospitalization history, and year of antihypertensive treatment initiation. The adjusted relative risk for the initiation of anti-gout therapy was 1.00 (95% CI, 0.65-1.53) for non-thiazide antihypertensive therapy alone, 1.99 (95%, CI, 1.21-3.26) for thiazide diuretic therapy, and 2.29 (95% CI, 1.55-3.37) for thiazide diuretic therapy in combination with any non-thiazide agent(s). Risk for anti-gout therapy was significantly increased for thiazide doses of > or = 25 mg/day (in hydrochlorothiazide equivalents); no significant increase in risk was seen for lower doses. We conclude that use of thiazide diuretics in doses of 25 mg/day or higher is associated with a significantly increased risk for initiation of anti-gout therapy. Such treatment may reflect the occurrence of clinical sequelae of diuretic-induced hyperuricemia or the inappropriate treatment of asymptomatic hyperuricemia.

The effects of initial drug choice and comorbidity on antihypertensive therapy compliance: results from a population-based study in the elderly.

Approximately half of all elderly patients have elevated blood pressure, and proper treatment of this disorder leads to decreased cardiovascular morbidity in patients 65 and older. This study examined the effect of initial drug choice and comorbidity on medication compliance. We conducted a retrospective follow-up of 8643 outpatients aged 65 to 99 with newly prescribed antihypertensive therapy (AHT) from 1982 to 1988 in the New Jersey Medicaid and Medicare programs. Compliance was measured in terms of the number of days in which AHT was available to the patient during the 12 months following the initiation of therapy. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the outcome of good compliance (> or =80%) were calculated. In a logistic regression model, good compliance (> or =80%) was significantly associated with use of newer agents such as angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.6 to 2.2) and calcium channel blockers (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.5 to 2.1) as compared to thiazides, the presence of comorbid cardiac disease (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.2), and multiple physician visits (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.8 to 2.5). Good compliance was inversely associated with use of multiple pharmacies (OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.4 to 0.5) and number of medications prescribed overall (OR 0.8, 95% CI 0.7 to 0.9). Drug choice, comorbidity, and health services utilization were significantly associated with AHT compliance and represent important considerations in the management of high blood pressure. Noncompliance may be an important cause of treatment failure in elderly hypertensives.

Concurrent use of antiulcerative agents.

Many physicians prescribe more than one antiulcerative agent (AUA) simultaneously to the same patient, although there is little evidence to support this practice. The purposes of this study were to (a) determine patient factors associated with the concurrent use of these agents and (b) estimate the excess costs generated by the prescription of multiple rather than a single agent. We conducted a case-control study of concurrent AUA users among New Jersey Medicaid enrollees age 65 years and older. To evaluate the excess cost generated by the ongoing prescription of an additional AUA, we measured the additional drug expenditures associated with each regimen of concurrent use. Nearly 1 in 15 AUA users (6.6%) met our conservative definition of concurrent AUA use. In a multiple logistic regression model, previous gastrointestinal procedure, use of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, nursing home residency, and recent hospitalization for more than 20 days were all predictors of concurrent use of more than one AUA. No association was found with age, sex, or number of pharmacies used. The upper bound estimate of the cost generated by the concurrent prescription of a second AUA was $210 (range: $2-$942) over the 180-day study period, with a lower bound of $151 (range: $1-$449). Annually, such excess cost would range from $301 to $420 per patient. This would account for between $457 million and $637 million per year for the nation's elderly if these patterns are generalizable. Despite the lack of evidence of therapeutic benefit from multiple concurrent AUA use in most patients, this practice is fairly common. Besides introducing the risk of additional costs and side effects in the absence of additional efficacy, the costs of such duplicative prescribing are substantial.

The impact of thiazide diuretics on the initiation of lipid-reducing agents in older people: a population-based analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine how often treatment for hyperlipidemia followed the use of thiazides, compared with the use of other antihypertensive drugs, in older patients. DESIGN: Retrospective follow-up of all health claims filed over a 12-month period. SETTING: New Jersey Medicaid and Medicare programs. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 9274 enrollees, aged 65 to 99, who were newly initiated on antihypertensive medications from 1981-1989. MEASUREMENTS: We measured rates of lipid-reducing agent (LRA) initiation among patients in the 2 years following antihypertensive initiation (thiazide, non-thiazide drug, or combinations of the two) compared with rates among patients not currently taking antihypertensive agents. We used Cox regression analyses to estimate relative risks (RR), accounting for switching in antihypertensive therapy and for time when drug therapy was not currently available according to pharmacy refill records. RESULTS: There were 226 patients (2.4%) in the cohort who were started on LRA during the follow-up period. After adjusting for potential confounders, we found no significant relationship between LRA initiation and overall thiazide use (RR 1.47, 95% CI 0.89-2.40), or other antihypertensive use, relative to no current exposure. However, use of high-dose thiazides (> or = 50 mg) was associated significantly with LRA initiation (RR 1.97, 95% CI 1.12-3.45). Factors associated with decreased incidence of LRA use included age > or = 85 (RR 0.59, 95% CI 0.36-0.96), black race (RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.37-0.91), and nursing home residency (RR 0.20, 95% CI 0.11-0.35). CONCLUSION: Use of low-cost and effective thiazide diuretics in older hypertensives was not associated with more common initiation of lipid-reducing agents, except with high-dose use of thiazides currently seen as inappropriate in most cases. Age and race were important determinants of LRA use.