Are hypertensive women with type 2 diabetes treated with RAS inhibitors as often as men? A cross-sectional study in...

We hypothesise that women with type 2 diabetes and hypertension are less likely than comparable men to receive renin-angiotensin system (RAS)-inhibiting antihypertensive treatment, particularly as first-line therapy. This study's main aim is to investigate the delivery of RAS inhibitor treatments by sex and number of antihypertensive treatments used.

Cross-sectional study in a cohort.

Constances cohort, France, 2012-2019.

2541 participants with type 2 diabetes among the 196 477 individuals aged 18-69 included in the Constances cohort.

Proportion of individuals treated with RAS inhibitors by sex and number of antihypertensive treatments dispensed. Factors associated with the use of RAS inhibitors.

Among 2541 diabetics, 1742 (68.6%) had received at least one antihypertensive treatment during the year preceding inclusion-a percentage that did not differ significantly between men and women (p=0.07). In analyses stratified by the number of antihypertensive classes, RAS inhibitors were delivered significantly less often to women than men for single-drug therapy (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.81; p=0.008) and two-drug therapy (0.35, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.75, p=0.007) but not in regimens of three or more drugs (0.29, 95% CI 0.05 to 1.56; p=0.15). In the multivariate analysis, women received RAS inhibitors significantly less often than men (0.41, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.62; p<0.001).

Women with type 2 diabetes are less likely than men to receive a prescription for RAS inhibitors, although this drug class is recommended as first-line therapy in this population.