Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Survey of hypertension in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Changing prescribing patterns

Md Sazzad Hossain , Nizam Uddin, AFM Mahmudul Islam, Raziul Hassan Akash, Md Mahadi Hasan, Tanay Kumar Saha, Md Monir Hossain, Mohammad Asikur Rahman, Md Sohel Rana

Department of Pharmacy, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka-1342, Bangladesh;

For correspondence:- Md Sazzad Hossain Email: sazzad.phrm@gmail.com Tel:+8801937045322

Received: 20 September 2014 Revised: 10 January 2015 Published: 28 February 2015

Citation: Hossain M, Uddin N, Islam A, Akash R, Hasan M, Saha T, et al. Survey of hypertension in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Changing prescribing patterns. Trop J Pharm Res 2015; 14(2):329-335 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v14i2.20

© 2015 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To assess changes in the prescribing pattern of antihypertensive drugs and lifestyle factors associated with hypertensive patients in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 50 hypertensive patients in various heart disease hospitals and the consulting rooms of 10 cardiologists in the city of Dhaka to determine changes in prescribing patterns of antihypertensive drugs. Respondents were distributed more or less equally between males and the females.

Results: Female patients aged 30 to 40 years (8 %) as well as male patients aged 50 to 60 years (54 %) and 60 to 70 years (12 %) were prone to hypertension. However, patients of both sexes whose age ranged from 40 to 50 (40 %) and 50 to 60 (36 %) were more prone to hypertension. It was observed that 46 % of the patients were overweight. A majority of the patients had diabetes with hypertension (28 %). Moreover, most of the patients (80 %) did not indulge in any physical exercise and were non-smokers but had a family history of hypertension. Combined antihypertensive drugs, especially thiazide diuretics with angiotensin II receptor blockers, calcium antagonists, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors were the first choice of drugs by physicians. The prescribing rate of β-blockers (28.36 %) and combined antihypertensive preparations (40 %) was higher than that of older antihypertensives, viz loop diuretics, propranolol and enalapril.

Conclusion: Combination therapy is favored by all doctors who compared with the past prescribing practice of a single medication for hypertension.

Keywords: Hypertension, Prescribing pattern, Antihypertensive drugs, Lifestyle factors, Family history