Trends in the Use of Diuretics to Treat Hypertension, 1997 and 2003. Statistical Brief Number 120

摘要

Hypertension is a chronic condition that is commonly treated with several classes of medications, including diuretics, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and ACE inhibitors. JNC 6 guidelines, which were issued in 1997, and JNC 7 guidelines, which were issued in 2003, both recommend diuretics as first-line drugs in the treatment of uncomplicated hypertension. JNC 7 guidelines also state that when more than one class of drugs is required to control blood pressure treatment should usually include a diuretic.* This Statistical Brief presents estimates based on data from the Household Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-HC) on trends from 1997 to 2003 in diuretic use in the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. The sample is composed of adults ages 18 and older who were reported to have received treatment for hypertension during the year. Trends in diuretic use are examined for this population overall and for subgroups of this population defined by age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, insurance status, education, and health status. All differences discussed in the text are statistically significant at the 0.05 level or better.