Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; University Health Network-Toronto Western Hospital Family Health Team, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: karen.tu@ices.on.ca.
The objective of this study was to examine persistence rates and factors influencing persistence for new elderly users of antihypertensive drugs.
We conducted a population-based cohort study in Ontario of adults aged 66 years or older to identify new users of antihypertensive medications between 1999 and 2010. Two-year therapy and class persistence were defined as persistence on any antihypertensive medication and persistence only on the same antihypertensive medication class, respectively.
From 1999-2010, the prevalence of antihypertensive drug use increased from 47.8%-60.5% (P