Affiliation:
1. From the Institute for Health Policy and General Medicine Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Medical Services and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.
Abstract
Background
—Over the past decade, calcium channel blockers (CCBs) and ACE inhibitors have been used increasingly in the treatment of hypertension. In contrast, β-blocker and diuretic use has decreased. It has been suggested that pharmaceutical marketing has influenced these prescribing patterns. No objective analysis of advertising for antihypertensive therapies exists, however.
Methods and Results
—We reviewed the January, April, July, and October issues of the
New England Journal of Medicine
from 1985 to 1996 (210 issues). The intensity of drug promotion was measured as the proportion of advertising pages used to promote a given medication. Statistical analyses used the χ
2
test for trend. Advertising for CCBs increased from 4.6% of advertising pages in 1985 to 26.9% in 1996, while advertising for β-blockers (12.4% in 1985 to 0% in 1996) and diuretics (4.2% to 0%) decreased (all
P
<0.0001). A nonsignificant increase was observed in advertising for ACE inhibitors (3.5% to 4.3%,
P
=0.17). Although the total number of drug advertising pages per issue decreased from 60 pages in 1985 to 42 pages in 1996 (
P
<0.001), the number of pages devoted to calcium channel blocker advertisements nearly quadrupled.
Conclusions
—Increasing promotion of CCBs has mirrored trends in physician prescribing. An association between advertising and prescribing patterns could explain why CCBs have supplanted better-substantiated therapies for hypertension.
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Subject
Physiology (medical),Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Cited by
66 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献