Evolution of histamine H 2 ‐receptor antagonist use in an ambulatory elderly population: A 14‐year overview

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency and pattern of histamine H 2 ‐receptor antagonist drug use in an ambulatory elderly population of individuals over 65 years of age from 1978 to 1992. A longitudinal health screening programme of ambulatory elderly participants was employed to conduct a series of cross‐sectional studies over a 14‐year period. Participants in the first period (1978–79) included 855 (37.1%) men and 1448 (62.9%) women. The use of histamine H 2 ‐receptor antagonist increased from 0.8% of the population in the 1978–79 period to 7.0% in the 1991–92 period. There was no statistically significant correlation between drug use and age (p = 0.8114) or sex (p = 0.9229) at the 1991–92 time period. In the 1991–92 time period, cimetidine and ranitidine combined, accounted for 86.0% of all reported histamine H 2 ‐receptor antagonist. Over the 14‐year period of study there has been a nearly constant increase of histamine H 2 ‐receptor antagonist use in this elderly population.