Prescribing Patterns of Antihypertensive Drugs in Uncomplicated Hypertension

July 24, 2024 updated by: Xavier HUMBERT, University Hospital, Caen

Association Between GP Characteristics and Prescription Patterns for Antihypertensive Drugs: A Cross-sectional Study in Normandy, France

Hypertension incurs substantial cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, particularly in primary prevention settings. General practitioners (GPs) play a pivotal role in the management of hypertension in primary care, yet variations exist among GPs. The determinants shaping GPs' antihypertensive medication (AD) prescription patterns in the setting of hypertension remain ambiguous. This investigation sought to elucidate how GPs' characteristics and professional activities influence AD prescriptions. A cross-sectional study utilizing a sample of 2,165 GPs was conducted in Normandy, France, in 2019. The ratio of AD prescriptions to overall prescription volume was computed for each practitioner. GPs were classified as 'low' or 'high' AD prescribers based on the median of this ratio. The ratio was examined in relation to GPs' demographic and professional variables such as age, gender, practice setting, years of experience, consultation frequency, the demographics and socioeconomic status of their patient panels, and prevalence of chronic conditions in patients. These associations were explored using both univariate and multivariate analyses.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

3325032

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • France
      • Caen, France, 14200
        • Xavier Humbert

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The participant pool for this study comprised GP characteristics and prescription practices within the Normandy region in northwestern France during the course of 2019. With a resident population of 3,325,032 as of January 1, 2019, and a total of 2,165 registered GPs, the study was well-situated to offer a representative analysis.

In order to focus on conventional full-time primary GP care, practitioners whose primary professional focus included specialties such as osteopathy, acupuncture, homeopathy, or nutrition were excluded. Furthermore, GPs with fewer than 300 annual consultations/visits (less than one per day), fewer than 2,000 annual drug prescriptions, no patients with any of the 30 chronic diseases that qualify for no-charge treatment under French law, or solely very low-income patients (eligible for no-charge GP visits as defined by French legislation) were also excluded.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • All patients who had at least one visit to their GP in 2019 were included, but minors were omitted.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • minors

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
hypertensive subjects
Drug: Antihypertensive Agents
use of antihypertensive drugs
non-hypertensive subjects

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
GP demographics
Time Frame: 1 year
age and gender of GPs, the urban or rural classification of the practice location (based on the GP's clinic postal code and DATASANTE tables from the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies, INSEE), and the number of years in practice.
1 year
medical practice activities
Time Frame: 1 year
frequency of home visits and consultations, the total number of registered patients, the average number of visits or consultations per patient, the average patient age, the number of very low-income patients, and the prevalence of registered chronic diseases (notably diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases).
1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University Hospital, Caen

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 1, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 12, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

June 5, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 19, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 19, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

July 24, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 25, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 24, 2024

Last Verified

July 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 24-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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