@article {1429, title = {Temporal patterns of antihypertensive medication use among elderly patients. The Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {JAMA}, volume = {270}, year = {1993}, month = {1993 Oct 20}, pages = {1837-41}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the incidence of newly treated hypertension and to describe the patterns of antihypertensive medication use among those aged 65 years and older.

DESIGN: Medicare eligibility lists from four US communities (Forsyth County, North Carolina; Washington County, Maryland; Sacramento County, California; and Pittsburgh, Pa) were used to obtain a representative sample of 5201 community-dwelling elderly for the Cardiovascular Health Study, a prospective cohort study of risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke. Participants were examined at baseline and again 1 year later. The two examinations included standardized questionnaires, blood pressure measurements, and the assessment of medication use by medication inventory. In this cohort analysis, we excluded 231 subjects (4.4\%) who did not return for follow-up, 69 (1.3\%) who had missing data for medications, and another 495 (9.5\%) who were taking "antihypertensive" medications for an indication other than high blood pressure.

INTERVENTIONS: None.

RESULTS: Among the 4406 participants, 1613 used antihypertensive medications at both visits. Between the two visits, 144 started and 115 stopped antihypertensive therapy. Among nonusers at baseline, the annual incidence of newly treated hypertension was 5.2\% in women and 5.6\% in men. Due to the number of participants who stopped therapy, the overall prevalence of antihypertensive treatment increased only slightly, from 40.7\% to 41.1\% in women and from 37.1\% to 38.2\% in men, during 1 year of follow-up. After adjustment for age, systolic blood pressure, number of antihypertensive drugs, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, the newly treated hypertensives were about half as likely as the previously treated hypertensives to receive diuretics (odds ratio [OR], 0.59; P = .008) or beta-blockers (OR, 0.52; P = .01); and they were about twice as likely to receive calcium channel blockers (OR, 1.88; P < .004) or angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (OR, 2.40; P < .001). A similar pattern of within-person changes over time was apparent among the continuous users.

CONCLUSIONS: Between June 1990 and June 1991, physicians were increasingly prescribing angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and calcium channel blockers in place of diuretics and beta-blockers for the treatment of hypertension in elderly patients, especially for those just starting therapy.

}, keywords = {Adrenergic beta-Antagonists, Aged, Analysis of Variance, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors, Antihypertensive Agents, Calcium Channel Blockers, Cohort Studies, Diuretics, Drug Utilization, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Hypertension, Linear Models, Logistic Models, Male, Medicare, Practice Patterns, Physicians{\textquoteright}, Recurrence, United States, Vasodilator Agents}, issn = {0098-7484}, author = {Psaty, B M and Savage, P J and Tell, G S and Polak, J F and Hirsch, C H and Gardin, J M and McDonald, R H} } @article {1491, title = {The association of antihypertensive agents with MRI white matter findings and with Modified Mini-Mental State Examination in older adults.}, journal = {J Am Geriatr Soc}, volume = {45}, year = {1997}, month = {1997 Dec}, pages = {1423-33}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association of antihypertensive regimen with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) white matter hyperintensity and with cognitive impairment in older adults.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.

SETTING: The Cardiovascular Health study, an observational prospective cohort study of risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke in men and women 65 years of age and older.

PARTICIPANTS: 1268 men and women with pharmacologically treated hypertension.

MEASUREMENTS: Information on medication use, medical history, and health habits was collected at clinic examinations. Participants completed the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) and underwent MRI examination. Without clinical information, study neuroradiologists assigned an overall grade of white matter signal intensity on MRI on a scale from 0 (no findings) to 9 (extensive findings).

RESULTS: Adjusted mean white matter grade was higher for users of calcium channel blockers (2.59, P = .007) and users of loop diuretics (2.60, P = .015) than for users of beta blockers (2.12). The association was present for both dihydropyridine and non-dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers. Adjusted mean 3MS scores were lower for users of calcium channel blockers (89.6, P < .002), especially dihydropyridines, and users of loop diuretics (89.7, P < .006) than for users of beta blockers (92.3). No statistically significant association could be shown for users of other drug regimens, including thiazides and ACE inhibitors.

CONCLUSION: In this study, users of antihypertensive regimens which included calcium channel blockers or loop diuretics had more severe white matter hyperintensity on MRI and worse performance on 3MS than users of beta blockers.

}, keywords = {Adrenergic beta-Antagonists, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Antihypertensive Agents, Brain, Calcium Channel Blockers, Cognition, Cohort Studies, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diuretics, Female, Geriatric Assessment, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Risk Factors}, issn = {0002-8614}, author = {Heckbert, S R and Longstreth, W T and Psaty, B M and Murros, K E and Smith, N L and Newman, A B and Williamson, J D and Bernick, C and Furberg, C D} } @article {698, title = {Serum potassium level and dietary potassium intake as risk factors for stroke.}, journal = {Neurology}, volume = {59}, year = {2002}, month = {2002 Aug 13}, pages = {314-20}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have found that low potassium intake and low serum potassium are associated with increased stroke mortality, but data regarding stroke incidence have been limited. Serum potassium levels, dietary potassium intake, and diuretic use in relation to risk for stroke in a prospectively studied cohort were investigated.

METHODS: The study comprised 5,600 men and women older than 65 years who were free of stroke at enrollment. Baseline data included serum potassium level, dietary potassium intake, and diuretic use. Participants were followed for 4 to 8 years, and the incidence and types of strokes were recorded. Low serum potassium was defined as less than 4.1 mEq/L, and low potassium intake as less than 2.4 g/d.

RESULTS: Among diuretic users, there was an increased risk for stroke associated with lower serum potassium (relative risk [RR]: 2.5, p < 0.0001). Among individuals not taking diuretics, there was an increased risk for stroke associated with low dietary potassium intake (RR: 1.5, p < 0.005). The small number of diuretic users with lower serum potassium and atrial fibrillation had a 10-fold greater risk for stroke compared with those with higher serum potassium and normal sinus rhythm.

CONCLUSIONS: A lower serum potassium level in diuretic users, and low potassium intake in those not taking diuretics were associated with increased stroke incidence among older individuals. Lower serum potassium was associated with a particularly high risk for stroke in the small number of diuretic users with atrial fibrillation. Further study is required to determine if modification of these factors would prevent strokes.

}, keywords = {Aged, Cohort Studies, Confidence Intervals, Diuretics, Humans, Linear Models, Male, Potassium, Potassium, Dietary, Proportional Hazards Models, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, Stroke}, issn = {0028-3878}, doi = {10.1212/wnl.59.3.314}, author = {Green, D M and Ropper, A H and Kronmal, R A and Psaty, B M and Burke, G L} } @article {804, title = {Risk of congestive heart failure in an elderly population treated with peripheral alpha-1 antagonists.}, journal = {J Am Geriatr Soc}, volume = {52}, year = {2004}, month = {2004 Oct}, pages = {1648-54}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: To compare the risk of congestive heart failure (CHF) in elderly individuals treated with any peripheral alpha-1 antagonist for hypertension with any thiazide, test whether the risk persists in subjects without cardiovascular disease (CVD) at baseline, and examine CHF risk in normotensive men with prostatism treated with alpha antagonists.

DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.

SETTING: Four U.S. sites: Washington County, Maryland; Allegheny County, Pennsylvania; Sacramento County, California; and Forsyth County, North Carolina.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 5,888 community-dwelling subjects aged 65 and older.

MEASUREMENTS: Adjudicated incident CHF.

RESULTS: The 3,105 participants with treated hypertension were at risk for CHF; 22\% of men and 8\% of women took alpha antagonists during follow-up. The age-adjusted risk of CHF in those receiving monotherapy treated with alpha antagonists was 1.90 (95\% confidence interval=1.03-3.50) compared with thiazides. In subjects without CVD at baseline receiving monotherapy, women taking an alpha antagonist had a 3.6 times greater age-adjusted risk of CHF, whereas men had no difference in risk. Adjustment for systolic blood pressure attenuated statistical differences in risk. There were 930 men without hypertension at risk for CHF; 5\% used alpha antagonists during follow-up, with no observed increase in CHF risk.

CONCLUSION: Subjects receiving alpha antagonist monotherapy for hypertension had a two to three times greater risk of incident CHF, also seen in lower-risk subjects, but differences in blood pressure control partly explained this.

}, keywords = {Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists, Aged, Antihypertensive Agents, Benzothiadiazines, Blood Pressure, Cohort Studies, Diuretics, Female, Heart Failure, Humans, Hypertension, Male, Risk Factors, Sodium Chloride Symporter Inhibitors, United States}, issn = {0002-8614}, doi = {10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52456.x}, author = {Bryson, Chris L and Smith, Nicholas L and Kuller, Lewis H and Chaves, Paulo H M and Manolio, Teri A and Lewis, William and Boyko, Edward J and Furberg, Curt D and Psaty, Bruce M} } @article {9452, title = {Genome Wide Association Studies of Variant-by-Thiazide Interaction on Lipids Identifies a Novel Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Locus.}, journal = {Circ Res}, volume = {131}, year = {2022}, month = {2022 Jul 22}, pages = {277-279}, keywords = {Cholesterol, HDL, Cholesterol, LDL, Diuretics, Genome-Wide Association Study, Sodium Chloride Symporter Inhibitors, Thiazides, Triglycerides}, issn = {1524-4571}, doi = {10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.122.321120}, author = {Downie, Carolina G and Highland, Heather M and Lee, Moa P and Raffield, Laura M and Preuss, Michael and Whitsel, Eric A and Psaty, Bruce M and Sitlani, Colleen M and Graff, Mariaelisa and Avery, Christy L} }