RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The goal of this retrospective cohort study was to investigate 3-year persistence with antihypertensive drug therapy and the association between antihypertensive drug classes and therapy discontinuation risk in Germany. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present retrospective cohort study was based on the IQVIA longitudinal prescription database (LRx) and included adult outpatients (≥ 18 years) with an initial prescription of antihypertensive monotherapy alone including diuretics (DIU), ß-blockers (BB), calcium channel blockers (CCB), ACE inhibitors (ACEi), and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) in Germany between January 2017 and December 2019 (index date). A Cox proportional hazards regression model was also used to assess the relationship between antihypertensive drug classes and non-persistence adjusted for age and sex. RESULTS: This study included 2,801,469 patients. Patients on ARB monotherapy exhibited the highest persistence within 1 year (39.4%) and 3 years (21.7%) after the index date. Patients on DIU monotherapy showed the lowest persistence (16.5% after 1 year, 6.2% 3 years after the index date). In the overall population, initial monotherapy with DIU (HR: 1.48) was positively associated with monotherapy discontinuation, whereas ARB monotherapy was (HR = 0.74) negatively associated with monotherapy discontinuation compared to BB. However, in the age group > 80, there was a slight negative association between DIU intake and monotherapy discontinuation (HR = 0.91). CONCLUSION: This large cohort study reveals significant differences in 3-year persistence with antihypertensives, which were strongest for ARB and weakest for DIU. However, the differences also depended on age, with much better DIU persistence in the elderly.
RESUMO
AIMS: The aim of the study was to investigate the change of insulin doses in Germany between 2017 and 2021. METHODS: This retrospective study used data from the longitudinal prescription LRx database (IQVIA) and included all patients with at least two insulin prescriptions per year in 2017-2021. Calculated daily dose (CDD) was assessed in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, separately. RESULTS: The number of patients was comprised between 1,079,894 in 2021 and 1,132,839 in 2018. Median (interquartile range) CDD of basal insulin was relatively stable across the years and ranged between 27.9 (18.5-38.8) in 2021 and 28.3 (18.7-39.5) in 2020. In terms of short-acting insulin, median (interquartile range) CDD slightly decreased from 40.1 (28.2-54.3) in 2017 to 38.1 (27.2-52.2) in 2021. A slight decrease was also observed for mix insulin, from 39.4 (27.5-55.3) in 2017 to 37.9 (26.5-54.2) in 2021. These results were corroborated in most age and sex subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 had no substantial effects on insulin doses in Germany. Further data are warranted to corroborate or refute these findings in other settings and countries.
