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Table 2 Distribution of antihypertensive drugs for newly-diagnosed uncomplicated hypertension patients, by gender, age and clinical facility, 1998–2004a

From: Antihypertensive medication prescription patterns and time trends for newly-diagnosed uncomplicated hypertension patients in Taiwan

 

Class of drugb

  

Total No. of prescriptionsb

Variables

Diuretics

Beta-blockers

CCBsc

ACE inhibitorsc

ARBsc

Others

 
 

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

 

Patient gender

             

   Male

15 525

17.82#

34 703

39.84#

46 468

53.35#

22 825

26.20#

10 635

12.21#

15 212

17.46#

87 105

   Female

19 981

21.80

40 941

44.67

46 106

50.31

21 306

23.25

10 339

11.28

8 826

9.63

91 649

Patient age (years)

             

   <55

13 556

17.02#

39 445

49.52#

40 270

50.56#

21 282

26.72#

10 421

13.08#

7 578

9.5#

79 651

   ≥55

21 950

22.15

36 199

36.53

52 304

52.78

22 849

23.06

10 553

10.65

16 460

16.61

99 103

Type of clinical facilityd

             

   Medical center

7 729

22.54#

14 463

42.18#

18 675

54.46#

6 169

17.99#

7 764

22.64#

3 122

9.10#

34 289

   Regional hospital

6 025

20.24

12 320

41.39#

17 058

57.30#

6 170

20.73#

5 637

18.94#

2 958

9.94#

29 768

   Local hospital

5 005

16.18#

11 303

36.54#

17 849

57.71#

5 464

17.67#

3 594

11.62#

3 905

12.63#

30 929

   Primary care clinic

16 745

19.99

37 540

44.83

38 988

46.56

26 322

31.43

3 966

4.74

14 053

16.78

83 746

Total Nos.

35 506

19.86

75 644

42.32

92 574

51.79

44 131

24.69

20 974

11.73

24 038

13.45

178 754

  1. Notes:
  2. a Total sample number = 6 536 patients.
  3. b No. refers to the number of prescriptions for each class of drug; % refers to the percentage of the total prescriptions for the six classes of drugs. As a result of missing data, the sum of the total number of prescriptions over the four types of clinical facilities is smaller than the overall number of prescriptions. The sum of the prescription rates for all six classes of drugs exceeds 100% because the average prescription contained more than one drug.
  4. c CCBs = calcium channel blockers; ACE = angiotensin-converting enzyme; ARBs = angiotensin receptor blockers.
  5. d Pairwise group comparisons are performed taking primary care clinics as the reference.
  6. # Significant p-value with the Bonferroni-adjusted α-level, p < 0.0017