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Dispensed volumes of anti‐asthmatic drugs related to the prevalence of asthma and COPD in Sweden
Author(s) -
Haupt Dan,
Wettermark Björn,
Nilsson J. Lars G.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.023
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1099-1557
pISSN - 1053-8569
DOI - 10.1002/pds.1564
Subject(s) - medicine , asthma , copd , pharmacoepidemiology , pharmacy , population , pediatrics , defined daily dose , epidemiology , age groups , drug , demography , medical prescription , family medicine , environmental health , pharmacology , sociology
Purpose To explore the possibility of using dispensed volumes asthma/COPD drugs as a proxy for the combined prevalence of asthma plus COPD. Methods The proportions of the Swedish population with inhalation drugs for asthma/COPD 2004 were obtained using three different databases. A pharmacy record database gave the volumes of dispensed drugs (defined daily doses, DDDs of R03A + R03B drugs) for each patient, 20 years and older. The X‐plain database of Apoteket AB gave drug sales data for Sweden and Swedish population data were obtained from Swedish statistics. Results The sales volumes of asthma/COPD drugs were much higher for older than for younger people. The volumes increased from 18 DDD/TID for the 20–29 year group up to 124 DDD/TID for patients 70–79 years, or about seven times. The average volumes per patient in the different age groups corresponded to one DDD/day in only three of the age groups (50–79 years). In the youngest group the average drug volume per patient corresponded to one DDD every second day, which may indicate undermedication. The percentages of the Swedish population with asthma/COPD drugs increased from 4.0% for 20–29 years old to 14.5% for 80+ years old, or 3.6 times. When head‐to‐head comparisons could be made between reported prevalence data of asthma and COPD and our data the two sets of data were in a reasonable agreement. Conclusion The prevalence of drug treatment, i.e. the proportion of the population with dispensed asthma/COPD drugs, could function as a proxy for the disease prevalence of asthma plus COPD. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.