Prevalence of Use of Cardiovascular Drugs in Dementia Patients Treated in General Practices in Germany.

BACKGROUND

Dementia is a chronic disease associated with numerous cardiovascular disorders.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the prevalence of cardiovascular drug use in dementia patients treated in general practices in Germany.

METHODS

The present study included patients who were diagnosed with dementia (Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, or unspecified dementia) in 2015. The main outcome measure was the proportion of patients using cardiovascular drugs. Demographical and clinical variables included age, sex, dementia type, and cardiovascular co-diagnoses. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between cardiovascular drug use and these variables.

RESULTS

We identified 7,987 and 1,268 dementia patients with and without prescriptions for cardiovascular drugs, respectively. The share of individuals who received cardiovascular treatments was 86.3%. Diuretics (20.9%), beta blocking agents (20.0%), and ACE inhibitors (17.4%) were the three most commonly prescribed types of medications. Patients between the ages of 71-80 (OR = 1.59), 81-90 (OR = 1.61), and over 90 years (OR = 1.48) were more likely to receive cardiovascular drugs than patients under the age of 70 years. Moreover, compared to those with unspecified dementia, individuals with Alzheimer's disease had a lower chance while those with vascular dementia had a higher chance of being prescribed these drugs (ORs equal to 0.81 and 1.22, respectively). Finally, we found a positive association between the use of cardiovascular drugs and all co-diagnoses (ORs ranging from 1.23 to 7.12).

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of cardiovascular drug use in dementia patients was around 86%. This use was significantly associated with such factors as age, type of dementia, and co-diagnoses.