Treatment of hypertension and dyslipidemia or their combination among US managed-care patients

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2007 Sep;9(9):684-91. doi: 10.1111/j.1524-6175.2007.07146.x.

Abstract

The authors examined treatment rates in managed-care patients with hypertension (HTN) only or dyslipidemia (DYS) only compared with patients who had both (HTN+DYS). A retrospective, cross-sectional claims analysis was performed in a 2002 US national managed-care database of 1.23 million continuously eligible members aged 18 years or older. Median age was 44.0 years, 8.8% were aged 65 years or older, and 53.2% were women. Study criteria identified 354,324 patients, 32.9% with HTN only, 34.7% with DYS only, and 32.4% with HTN+DYS. Overall, 49.7% of HTN patients had DYS and 48.3% of DYS patients had HTN. Patients with HTN+DYS were significantly older, more likely to have cardiovascular comorbidities, and more likely to use medications and hospital facilities than were patients with HTN only or DYS only (P<.01). About two-thirds of patients with HTN only received 1 or more prescription for an antihypertensive medication, compared with three-quarters of those with HTN+DYS. Fewer than half of patients with DYS only and approximately two-thirds with HTN+DYS received a cholesterol-lowering agent.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Anticholesteremic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Antihypertensive Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Comorbidity
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Dyslipidemias / drug therapy*
  • Dyslipidemias / epidemiology*
  • Female
  • Hospitalization
  • Humans
  • Hypertension / drug therapy*
  • Hypertension / epidemiology*
  • Male
  • Managed Care Programs*
  • Middle Aged
  • Retrospective Studies
  • United States / epidemiology

Substances

  • Anticholesteremic Agents
  • Antihypertensive Agents