Table 3.
Summary of sensitivity analyses showing important drug class specific associations between antihypertensive treatment and specific adverse events
| Outcome | Drug class | No of studies | Sample size | Events | Risk ratio (95% CI) | I2 (%) | τ2 | 95% prediction interval | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intervention group | Control group | Intervention group | Control group | ||||||||
| Acute kidney injury33 39 51 61 62 64 79 81 85 | RAAS | 9 | 33 686 | 42 316 | 514 | 468 | 1.26 (1.03 to1.56) | 39.0 | 0.030 | 0.80 to 1.99 | |
| Hyperkalaemia30-34 42 45 51 57 59 62 64 73 77 79 82 85 86 91-93 | RAAS | 20 | 47 122 | 51 787 | 2282 | 1541 | 2.03 (1.67 to 2.48) | 51.0 | 0.063 | 1.16 to 3.57 | |
| Hypokalaemia35 71 72 83 | Diuretics | 3 | 3154 | 3114 | 259 | 25 | 10.73 (0.32 to 354.58) | 80.9 | 1.385 | - | |
| Gout17 35 55 71 72 83 90 | Diuretics | 5 | 12 121 | 12 190 | 237 | 29 | 4.48 (0.79 to 26.54) | 85.0 | 1.547 | 0.05 to 388.68 | |
RAAS=drugs affecting the renin angiotensin-aldosterone system (eg, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, direct renin inhibitors); diuretics=thiazide and thiazide-like diuretics.
Other generic adverse events such as falls, hypotension, syncope, and fractures were examined by drug class, but no significant drug specific effects were observed (supplementary figures 1 and 12-14).