Follow-up study of the use of antihypertensive drug treatment and of the population treated.

We carried out a study describing the extent and patterns of use of antihypertensive drugs and identifying common diseases in a cohort of workers. The population was monitored on a yearly basis by a questionnaire to assess the use of antihypertensive drugs. The extent and causes of absenteeism for medical reasons and diagnoses of cancer were taken from systematic records from the company. Four cross-sectional analyses covering a period of 5 years are presented. For the 17,244 respondents in 1990--12,731 men aged 41 to 51 years and 4,513 women aged 36 to 51 years--the prevalence of antihypertensive drug use was 6.5%, and 5 years later, antihypertensive drug use had doubled. This increase involved calcium channel inhibitors in particular. In all analyses, excess absenteeism for all health-related disorders was observed among those treated with antihypertensive drugs compared with the remainder of the population, who were almost all nonhypertensive: 44% v 34% (P < .000) in 1990, 42% v 34% (P < .000) in 1991, 41% v 34% (P < .000) in 1993, and 37% v 29% (P < .000) in 1994. Psychiatric disorders and fatigue were among the most frequent causes of absenteeism and were more frequent in individuals treated with antihypertensive drugs.