Age and number of drugs prescribed
However, the number of prescribed drugs was correlated to the age in our
sample (r=0.42; p<0.00001) (data not shown). After adjusting
for number of prescribed drugs, the proportion of patients reaching the
therapeutic goals was the same, whatever their age or study group for
patients who took less than five different drugs (Table 3). Conversely,
for polypharmacy patients, the proportions are higher in the
intervention group. The difference between the control and the
intervention group is non-significant for patients under 60 (20.0%vs. 66.7%; p=0.242) and significant for patients over 60 (15.8%vs. 57.1%; p=0.024).
Number of chronic
disease
The proportion of patients achieving therapeutic goals decreased with
the number of pathologies in both groups (Table 2). This proportion stay
higher in the intervention group than in the control group, whether
patients had one (50.0% vs. 77.7%), two (33.3% vs.70.0%) or more (27.3% vs. 46.7%) chronic diseases, although no
significant differences were retrieved.
Socio-economic level
In the control group, the proportion of patients achieving therapeutic
goals decreased as the socio-economic level increased (37.5% to 29.4%)
(Table 2). It seemed to be the opposite in the intervention group, in
which it increased with the socio-economic level (37.5% to 68.8%)
(Table 2). There was no difference between the two groups for lower
education levels (37.5%). The difference appeared for middle education
levels (33.3% vs 70.0%; p=0.302) and get significant for higher
education levels (29.4% vs 68.8%; p=0.024).
Main pathology involved
The increase of the proportion of patients reaching the therapeutic
goals in the intervention group seemed to be the same order of magnitude
(+24% and +23%) in hypertension (38.5% vs. 62.5% p=0.089) and
type 2 diabetes (10.0% vs. 33.3%; p=0.303), and more important
(+42%) in hypercholesterolemia (37.5% vs. 80.0%; p=0.266)
(Table 2).