Table 1. Characteristics of Medicare Beneficiaries of Black, White, and Other Races/Ethnicities in the 5% Sample Who Initiated Antihypertensive Medication Between 2011 and 2018.
| Characteristic | Calendar year of antihypertensive medication initiation, No. (%) of each race/ethnicitya | P value for trend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | ||
| Age, mean (SD), y | |||||||||
| Black | 75.6 (7.8) | 75.4 (8.1) | 75.4 (7.9) | 74.6 (7.1) | 74.5 (7.8) | 74.9 (8.2) | 74.7 (7.9) | 74.7 (8.0) | .02 |
| White | 76.0 (7.5) | 76.0 (7.6) | 76.0 (7.8) | 75.9 (7.7) | 75.7 (7.7) | 75.9 (7.5) | 75.8 (7.5) | 75.4 (7.4) | <.001 |
| Other | 74.8 (7.1) | 76.0 (7.5) | 75.2 (7.0) | 74.6 (7.6) | 74.5 (7.7) | 74.1 (7.6) | 74.3 (7.4) | 74.8 (7.8) | .02 |
| Male sex | |||||||||
| Black | 135 (35.3) | 157 (36.9) | 137 (34.1) | 178 (39.8) | 157 (40.2) | 150 (35.0) | 149 (35.4) | 161 (39.8) | .43 |
| White | 1316 (31.2) | 1370 (32.1) | 1353 (32.1) | 1446 (33.3) | 1534 (35.3) | 1562 (34.7) | 1551 (34.9) | 1575 (34.1) | <.001 |
| Other | 126 (34.7) | 139 (38.1) | 137 (39.6) | 167 (42.2) | 161 (44.4) | 174 (40.7) | 179 (44.3) | 160 (37.3) | .12 |
| Region of residence | |||||||||
| West South Central | |||||||||
| Black | 44 (11.5) | 50 (11.7) | 55 (13.7) | 52 (11.6) | 52 (13.3) | 58 (13.5) | 50 (11.9) | 57 (14.1) | .36 |
| White | 459 (10.9) | 469 (11.0) | 464 (11.0) | 470 (10.8) | 446 (10.3) | 458 (10.2) | 446 (10.0) | 480 (10.4) | .06 |
| Other | 40 (11.0) | 50 (13.7) | 61 (17.6) | 47 (11.9) | 43 (11.8) | 52 (12.1) | 40 (9.9) | 51 (11.9) | .18 |
| Mountain | |||||||||
| Black | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | .31 |
| White | 224 (5.3) | 231 (5.4) | 219 (5.2) | 230 (5.3) | 274 (6.3) | 312 (6.9) | 295 (6.6) | 305 (6.6) | <.001 |
| Other | 21 (5.8) | 19 (5.2) | 16 (4.6) | 20 (5.1) | 26 (7.2) | 35 (8.2) | 26 (6.4) | 20 (4.7) | .50 |
| East South Central | |||||||||
| Black | 47 (12.3) | 58 (13.6) | 43 (10.7) | 53 (11.9) | 46 (11.8) | 45 (10.5) | 45 (10.7) | 30 (7.4) | .01 |
| White | 343 (8.1) | 346 (8.1) | 349 (8.3) | 330 (7.6) | 320 (7.4) | 319 (7.1) | 296 (6.7) | 310 (6.7) | <.001 |
| Other | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | .66 |
| Middle Atlantic | |||||||||
| Black | 49 (12.8) | 47 (11.0) | 58 (14.4) | 77 (17.2) | 58 (14.8) | 62 (14.5) | 55 (13.1) | 66 (16.3) | .15 |
| White | 600 (14.2) | 598 (14.0) | 578 (13.7) | 629 (14.5) | 630 (14.5) | 680 (15.1) | 644 (14.5) | 662 (14.3) | .30 |
| Other | 37 (10.2) | 52 (14.2) | 43 (12.4) | 45 (11.4) | 49 (13.5) | 53 (12.4) | 43 (10.6) | 67 (15.6) | .29 |
| South Atlantic | |||||||||
| Black | 125 (32.7) | 164 (38.5) | 151 (37.6) | 137 (30.6) | 134 (34.3) | 135 (31.5) | 144 (34.2) | 140 (34.6) | .42 |
| White | 923 (21.9) | 997 (23.4) | 957 (22.7) | 1001 (23.0) | 1005 (23.1) | 1039 (23.1) | 1063 (23.9) | 1094 (23.7) | .05 |
| Other | 70 (19.3) | 57 (15.6) | 50 (14.5) | 93 (23.5) | 70 (19.3) | 76 (17.8) | 60 (14.9) | 67 (15.6) | .28 |
| West North Central | |||||||||
| Black | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | 12 (3.1) | 14 (3.3) | 12 (2.9) | Redactedb | .23 |
| White | 392 (9.3) | 369 (8.7) | 344 (8.2) | 315 (7.3) | 293 (6.7) | 258 (5.7) | 278 (6.3) | 289 (6.3) | <.001 |
| Other | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | 12 (3.3) | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | .59 |
| East North Central | |||||||||
| Black | 74 (19.4) | 72 (16.9) | 57 (14.2) | 85 (19.0) | 58 (14.8) | 81 (18.9) | 71 (16.9) | 61 (15.1) | .43 |
| White | 638 (15.1) | 648 (15.2) | 615 (14.6) | 643 (14.8) | 669 (15.4) | 622 (13.8) | 629 (14.2) | 659 (14.3) | .06 |
| Other | 32 (8.8) | 20 (5.5) | 16 (4.6) | 29 (7.3) | 34 (9.4) | 34 (7.9) | 37 (9.2) | 34 (7.9) | .18 |
| Pacific | |||||||||
| Black | 25 (6.5) | 21 (4.9) | 15 (3.7) | 19 (4.3) | 22 (5.6) | 19 (4.4) | 30 (7.1) | 24 (5.9) | .47 |
| White | 416 (9.9) | 374 (8.8) | 437 (10.4) | 480 (11.1) | 453 (10.4) | 554 (12.3) | 518 (11.7) | 556 (12.0) | <.001 |
| Other | 141 (38.8) | 144 (39.5) | 127 (36.7) | 144 (36.4) | 117 (32.2) | 149 (34.8) | 167 (41.3) | 164 (38.2) | .94 |
| New England | |||||||||
| Black | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | 12 (3.0) | .14 |
| White | 217 (5.2) | 233 (5.5) | 251 (6.0) | 245 (5.6) | 254 (5.8) | 264 (5.9) | 270 (6.1) | 265 (5.7) | .12 |
| Other | 11 (3.0) | 12 (3.3) | 16 (4.6) | Redactedb | Redactedb | 18 (4.2) | 20 (5.0) | Redactedb | .80 |
| Cardiologist care | |||||||||
| Black | 42 (11.0) | 49 (11.5) | 46 (11.4) | 49 (11.0) | 63 (16.1) | 53 (12.4) | 55 (13.1) | 49 (12.1) | .26 |
| White | 678 (16.1) | 710 (16.6) | 711 (16.9) | 787 (18.1) | 794 (18.3) | 791 (17.6) | 789 (17.8) | 778 (16.8) | .09 |
| Other | 60 (16.5) | 55 (15.1) | 46 (13.3) | 57 (14.4) | 51 (14.0) | 66 (15.4) | 57 (14.1) | 70 (16.3) | .97 |
| Endocrinologist care | |||||||||
| Black | 12 (3.1) | 11 (2.6) | Redactedb | Redactedb | 13 (3.3) | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | .31 |
| White | 128 (3.0) | 128 (3.0) | 113 (2.7) | 149 (3.4) | 138 (3.2) | 192 (4.3) | 164 (3.7) | 201 (4.4) | <.001 |
| Other | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | 12 (3.0) | 12 (3.3) | 11 (2.6) | Redactedb | 15 (3.5) | .24 |
| Nephrologist care | |||||||||
| Black | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | .56 |
| White | 34 (0.8) | 24 (0.6) | 24 (0.6) | 35 (0.8) | 39 (0.9) | 28 (0.6) | 39 (0.9) | 30 (0.6) | .68 |
| Other | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | .47 |
| Low income subsidy/Medicare-Medicaid eligible | |||||||||
| Black | 234 (61.3) | 253 (59.4) | 229 (57.0) | 196 (43.8) | 171 (43.7) | 185 (43.1) | 182 (43.2) | 161 (39.8) | <.001 |
| White | 860 (20.4) | 813 (19.1) | 758 (18.0) | 673 (15.5) | 607 (14.0) | 688 (15.3) | 669 (15.1) | 598 (12.9) | <.001 |
| Other | 250 (68.9) | 247 (67.7) | 221 (63.9) | 233 (58.8) | 205 (56.5) | 201 (47.0) | 207 (51.2) | 210 (49.0) | <.001 |
| Area-level median income<$25 000 | |||||||||
| Black | 28 (7.3) | 28 (6.6) | 28 (7.0) | 22 (4.9) | 26 (6.6) | 30 (7.0) | 21 (5.0) | 14 (3.5) | .03 |
| White | 24 (0.6) | 33 (0.8) | 22 (0.5) | 22 (0.5) | 30 (0.7) | 18 (0.4) | 18 (0.4) | 11 (0.2) | <.001 |
| Other | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | Redactedb | .10 |
a
Number of Black, White, and other race/ethnicity beneficiaries in each calendar year. For 2011: Black = 382, White = 4212, other = 363; for 2012: Black = 426, White = 4265, other = 365; for 2013: Black = 402, White = 4214, other = 346; for 2014: Black = 447, White = 4343, other = 396; for 2015: Black = 391, White = 4344, other = 363; for 2016: Black = 429, White = 4506, other = 428; for 2017: Black = 421, White = 4439, other = 404; for 2018: Black = 405, White = 4620, other = 429; overall: Black = 3303, White = 34 943, other = 3094.
b
Owing to small numbers.