Background: Sex-specific responses to antihypertensive drugs are not very well understood.
Objective: To investigate sex-related differences in blood pressure response to antihypertensive drugs in a community-based prospective clinical trial.
Methods: We recruited 3535 untreated hypertensive patients (2326 women), aged 40-75 years, from 7 rural communities in China. Subjects were randomized to 1 of 4 drug groups: atenolol, hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), captopril, or sustained-released nifedipine; duration of the study was 8 weeks. Mean blood pressure reduction, blood pressure control rates, and frequency of adverse events were compared between men and women.
Results: Women had a better response to HCTZ in relation to diastolic blood pressure (1.8 mm Hg lower) than did men (p < 0.05) and were 57% more likely to reach the control goal of diastolic blood pressure than were men (p < 0.05). In the atenolol group, mean systolic blood pressure decreased 3.9 mm Hg more in women than in men (p < 0.05), and women were 65% more likely to reach the control goal of systolic blood pressure and 57% more likely to reach the control goal of diastolic blood pressure than were men (p < 0.05). Significant sex-related differences were also found in drug-related adverse events in the nifedipine group (15.8% in women vs 9.8% in men; p = 0.017) and in the captopril group (14.3% in women vs 8.4% in men; p = 0.005), but no differences were seen with HCTZ or atenolol.
Conclusions: Women have better blood pressure responses to HCTZ and atenolol and experience more adverse effects with sustained-release nifedipine and captopril than do men, indicating that sex should be taken into account when selecting antihypertensive drugs.