The Study
Treatment With Multiple Blood Pressure Medications, Achieved Blood Pressure, and Mortality in Older Nursing Home Residents: The PARTAGE Study.
This study noticed that older people in nursing homes with low blood pressure who took lots of blood pressure pills were more likely to die. But it didn't prove the pills made them sick — maybe they were already very sick, so doctors gave them more pills and they also died more. It's like noticing that people who wear seatbelts in car crashes die more — but that doesn't mean seatbelts are dangerous, it means they were in worse crashes.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Some very old, frail people in nursing homes have low blood pressure and take several pills to lower it. This study looked at whether that combination makes them more likely to die.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 567 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — this suggests that aggressively lowering blood pressure with multiple drugs in very frail, elderly people may do more harm than good, even if their blood pressure is already low.
- 2People with blood pressure under 130 and taking 2+ blood pressure pills had a 78% higher chance of dying in 2 years than others.
- 3Those with low blood pressure but fewer pills did not have higher risk.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
JAMA internal medicine
Year
2015
Authors
A. Benetos, C. Labat, P. Rossignol, R. Fay, Y. Rolland, F. Valbusa, P. Salvi, M. Zamboni, P. Manckoundia, O. Hanon, S. Gautier
Related Content
Claims (6)
Among frail elderly people aged 80 and older living in nursing homes, lower systolic blood pressure is linked to a higher risk of death, even when accounting for other health conditions, physical frailty, and the number of medications taken.
Frail older adults in nursing homes with low blood pressure who take two or more blood pressure medications have a 78% higher risk of dying within two years compared to those who take fewer medications or have higher blood pressure.
Frail adults over 80 with low systolic blood pressure (below 130 mm Hg) and taking multiple medications have a higher rate of death from any cause.
In frail elderly nursing home residents aged 80 and older, having systolic blood pressure below 130 mm Hg while taking two or more blood pressure medications is linked to a higher risk of death from any cause.
Frail elderly people aged 80 and older in nursing homes who have low blood pressure and take two or more blood pressure medications have higher death rates from both heart-related and non-heart-related causes.
Among frail elderly people aged 80 and older in nursing homes with systolic blood pressure at or above 130 mm Hg, taking multiple blood pressure medications does not increase the risk of death.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.