Could high continuity of care (COC) have a negative impact on subjective health of hypertensive patients? A Japanese perspective

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke and ischemic heart disease attributable to hypertension, are major causes of premature death in Japan and worldwide. Nevertheless, a low rate of blood pressure control among hypertensive patients has been observed in most countries. No previous studies have explored the effectiveness of physician visits among hypertensive patients in Japan. METHODS: To quantify the effects of persistence in physician visits among hypertensive patients, we evaluated the causal effect of physician visits on the health of hypertensive patients. We used 16 waves of nationally representative longitudinal data drawn from the Longitudinal Survey of Middle-aged and Elderly Persons in Japan (2005–2020). To examine the causal effect of physician visits on patients’ health outcomes, we used inverse probability treatment weights and doubly robust estimation and obtained the estimates of the average treatment effects on the treated (ATETs). RESULTS: Covariates were well balanced among patients who had physician visits during the past two consecutive years (N = 67,210; 64.9% among hypertensive patients). The estimated ATETs suggest that three consecutive years of physician visits had a negative impact on poor subjective health. Furthermore, patients without habitual exercise tended to not continue physician visits and perceived poor subjective health. CONCLUSIONS: Although the impact of frequent physician visits on blood pressure stability remains uncertain, regular appointments every 30 days can be effective for individuals with hypertension, particularly if they receive continuous instruction from their family physician. Because it is important for physicians to strengthen hypertensive patients' blood pressure control, promoting consecutive physician visits to hypertensive patients with diabetes, lower educational attainment, or smoking habits is needed.