Clinical epidemiology
Drug-Induced Orthostatic Hypotension in UK Primary Care: A Self-Controlled Case Series Study
By Bhanu C, Petersen I, Orlu M and 3 others.
Abstract
Background
Drug-induced orthostatic hypotension (OH) is common and increasing worldwide with rising polypharmacy. Real-world evidence is crucial for safe prescribing. We examined the risk of OH associated with commonly prescribed drugs in UK primary care among adults aged ≥60 years.
Methods
This was a self-controlled case series using routinely collected UK primary care data from the IQVIA Medical Research Database (IMRD). Individuals with an OH diagnosis and drug exposure between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2018 were included. Drug classes potentially causing OH were coded by British National Formulary sub-chapters. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of OH were compared across a 90-day pre-exposure period and three post-prescription risk periods (day 1-28; day 29-56; day 57+) against periods outside these risk periods (reference period).
