Seventeen-Year Nationwide Trends in Antihypertensive Drug Use in Denmark

Recent trends in use of antihypertensive drugs are unknown. From Danish nationwide prescription data, we obtained information on primary care use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, beta blockers, diuretics, aldosterone receptor antagonists, and calcium channel blockers. During 1999 to 2015, the use of antihypertensive drugs per 1,000 inhabitants/day increased from 184 to 379 defined daily doses (DDD), corresponding to a rise in the prevalence proportion of users from approximate to 20% to approximate to 35%. From 1999 to 2015, a notable increase was observed for angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (from 29 to 105 DDD per 1,000 inhabitants/day approximate to 260%) and angiotensin H receptor blockers (from 13 to 73 DDD per 1,000 inhabitants/day approximate to 520%). For diuretics the use remained stable, with a slight decrease (from 89 to 81 DDD per 1,000 inhabitants/day approximate to-10%). The use of aldosterone receptor antagonists increased until 2007 and remained unchanged at around 3.5 DDD per 1,000 inhabitants/day thereafter (average change approximate to 65%). The use of beta blockers doubled during the study period (from 17 to 34 DDD per 1,000 inhabitants/day approximate to 100%), entirely driven by increasing use of metoprolol. Similar trends.were observed for calcium channel blockers (from 34 to 82 DDD per 1,000 inhabitants/day approximate to 140%), where amlodipine drove the overall increase. In conclusion, antihypertensive drug use has increased remarkably during the past 2 decades. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.