Non-persistence to antihypertensive drug therapy in Lithuania

Purpose: Poor persistence to antihypertensive therapy is an important cause of treatment failure. Investigating persistence is especially important in countries with a high cardiovascular mortality, like Lithuania. The aim of this study was to describe the antihypertensive treatment at initiation, to determine the percentage of patients not being persistent with antihypertensive treatment after 1 year and to explore factors associated with non-persistence. Methods: In this cohort study, data on dispensed prescription medicines from the Lithuanian National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) were used. All adult patients with a diagnosis of hypertension having first antihypertensive dispensed in 2018 were included. Descriptive statistics was used to determine the number of patients started with monotherapy and combination therapy. Treatment choice by Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) and number of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) was described. Non-persistence was assessed using the anniversary method. Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore factors associated with non-persistence. Results: A total of 72,088 patients were included into the study, 56% started on monotherapy treatment, with 49% being dispensed an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, and 44% started on combination therapy. Overall, 57% of patients were non-persistent after 1 year. Patients’ gender and prescriber qualification showed no association with non-persistence. Younger patients, patients from rural area, patients started with monotherapy, and patients with no medication change had higher odds to become non-persistent. Conclusions: The majority of patients were initiated with treatment following hypertension management guidelines, but it is of concern that over half of the patients were non-persistent to antihypertensive therapy in the first year

Sodium, Potassium and Iodine Intake in an Adult Population of Lithuania

CC BY 4.0Hypertension is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular events and death. A reduction in salt intake is among the most cost-effective strategies to reduce blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Increasing potassium lowers blood pressure and is associated with lower cardiovascular risk. Adequate iodine intake is important to prevent iodine deficiency disorders. Salt iodization is a key strategy to prevent such deficiency. In Lithuania, no surveys have been performed to directly assess sodium, potassium and iodine consumption. The aim of the present study was to measure sodium, potassium and iodine intake in a randomly selected adult Lithuanian adult population using 24 h urine collections, and to assess knowledge, attitudes and behavior towards salt consumption. Salt and potassium intakes were estimated in 888 randomly selected participants by 24 h urine sodium and potassium excretion and 679 individuals provided suitable 24 h urine samples for the analysis of iodine excretion. Average salt intake was 10.0 (SD 5.3) g/24 h and average potassium intake was 3.3 (SD 1.3) g/24 h. Only 12.5% of participants consumed less than 5 g/24 h of salt. The median value of urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was 95.5 μg/L. Our study showed that average salt intake is twice as high as the maximum level recommended by the World Health Organization while potassium and iodine intakes in Lithuania are below the recommended levels

Non-persistence to antihypertensive drug therapy in Lithuania

Purpose Poor persistence to antihypertensive therapy is an important cause of treatment failure. Investigating persistence is especially important in countries with a high cardiovascular mortality, like Lithuania. The aim of this study was to describe the antihypertensive treatment at initiation, to determine the percentage of patients not being persistent with antihypertensive treatment after 1 year and to explore factors associated with non-persistence. Methods In this cohort study, data on dispensed prescription medicines from the Lithuanian National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) were used. All adult patients with a diagnosis of hypertension having first antihypertensive dispensed in 2018 were included. Descriptive statistics was used to determine the number of patients started with monotherapy and combination therapy. Treatment choice by Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) and number of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) was described. Non-persistence was assessed using the anniversary method. Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore factors associated with non-persistence. Results A total of 72,088 patients were included into the study, 56% started on monotherapy treatment, with 49% being dispensed an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, and 44% started on combination therapy. Overall, 57% of patients were non-persistent after 1 year. Patients' gender and prescriber qualification showed no association with non-persistence. Younger patients, patients from rural area, patients started with monotherapy, and patients with no medication change had higher odds to become non-persistent. Conclusions The majority of patients were initiated with treatment following hypertension management guidelines, but it is of concern that over half of the patients were non-persistent to antihypertensive therapy in the first year

Sodium, potassium and iodine intake in an adult population of Lithuania

Hypertension is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular events and death. A reduction in salt intake is among the most cost-effective strategies to reduce blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Increasing potassium lowers blood pressure and is associated with lower cardiovascular risk. Adequate iodine intake is important to prevent iodine deficiency disorders. Salt iodization is a key strategy to prevent such deficiency. In Lithuania, no surveys have been performed to directly assess sodium, potassium and iodine consumption. The aim of the present study was to measure sodium, potassium and iodine intake in a randomly selected adult Lithuanian adult population using 24 h urine collections, and to assess knowledge, attitudes and behavior towards salt consumption. Salt and potassium intakes were estimated in 888 randomly selected participants by 24 h urine sodium and potassium excretion and 679 individuals provided suitable 24 h urine samples for the analysis of iodine excretion. Average salt intake was 10.0 (SD 5.3) g/24 h and average potassium intake was 3.3 (SD 1.3) g/24 h. Only 12.5% of participants consumed less than 5 g/24 h of salt. The median value of urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was 95.5 μg/L. Our study showed that average salt intake is twice as high as the maximum level recommended by the World Health Organization while potassium and iodine intakes in Lithuania are below the recommended levels