(030) Gender differences in pattern of medication use in the population of Tuscany region, Italy, in 2021

Publication Number: 693

Background: Knowledge of gender differences in medication use is paramount in the context of gender-based approach to clinical practice and the promotion of an appropriate and personalized patients’ care.

Objectives: To describe gender differences in the pattern of utilization of drugs in Tuscany region, Italy, in 2021.

Methods: The regional administrative healthcare database of Tuscany was used. Subjects enrolled in the regional healthcare service of Tuscany at 1st January 2021 were selected. All drugs dispensed during 2021 and reimbursed by the National Healthcare System (NHS) were retrieved according to the first four levels of the Anatomical-Therapeutic-Chemical (ATC) classification. Per each level of the ATC classification, the relevant classes of drugs were ordered based on the absolute value of the observed difference in prevalence of use (|Δ|) between men and women. Prevalent users were subjects with ≥1 dispensing of interest. Prevalence of use was measured as the number of users per 1000 inhabitants. Per each level of the ATC classification the five classes of drugs with the greatest gender difference in terms of prevalence of use were reported. Gender differences in mean number of packages dispensed per user during 2021 were also observed.

Results: According to the I° ATC level, the five drug classes with greatest gender difference in prevalence of use were observed for ATC N (nervous system,|Δ|=81,4 users/1000 inhab.), A (alimentary tract and metabolism, |Δ|=79,8), H (systemic hormonal preparations, excl. sex hormones and insulins, |Δ|=79,7), G (genitourinary system and sex hormones, |Δ|=64,4) and J (antiinfectives for systemic use, |Δ|=54,5). When the IV° ATC level was considered, the five drug classes with greatest gender difference in prevalence of use were vitamin D and analogues (ATC A11CC |Δ|=97,0), alpha-adrenoreceptor antagonists (G04CA |Δ|=78,9), thyroid hormones (H03AA |Δ|=68,7), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) (N06AB |Δ|=53,0) and other antibacterials (e.g. fosfomycin) (J01XX |Δ|=39,2). Except from ATC G, the observed prevalence of use was always higher in women than men, though the mean number of packages dispensed per user was approximately comparable between the two genders.

Conclusions: The study provided evidence on the five classes of drugs with the greatest gender difference in terms of prevalence of use in the Tuscan population in 2021. Gender differences driven by both biological differences (e.g. drugs used for benign prostatic hypertrophy) and/or gender-related differences (e.g. SSRI antidepressants use) were observed.