Trends of Antihypertensive, Antidiabetic, and Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Use among the Health Workers Cohort Study, Mexico 2004 to 2018

BACKGROUND: Hypertension and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases in Mexico and worldwide. According to international practice management guidelines, the principal chronic management therapy is daily oral medication. AIM: We aim to describe the trends of antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drugs use among the Mexican adult population from 2004–2018. METHODS: We analyzed data from the Health Workers Cohort Study (HWCS) for males and females aged >18 years. We calculated the prevalence of chronic diseases and utilization for every kind of antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and NSAIDs (measured by self-reported utilization) at baseline and two follow-ups (2004, 2010, and 2017). Trends were analyzed using Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Hypertension prevalence increased from 19.8 to 30.3%, higher than T2D prevalence from 7.0 to 12.8% through fourteen years of follow-up. Like the self-reported dual therapy, the proportion of patients using beta-blockers and angiotensin II receptor blockers increased. Regarding T2D, the prevalence of metformin utilization increased to 83.9%. The utilization of common NSAIDs, mainly for muscular pain, remained around 13 to 16%. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed a changing prevalence of drug utilization for hypertension and T2D between 2004 and 2018 and consistent use of NSAIDs in the adult Mexican population.