Title
A 'Polypill' aimed at preventing cardiovascular disease could prove highly cost-effective for use in Latin America
Date Issued
14 January 2013
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Bautista L.
Vera-Cala L.
Ferrante D.
Herrera V.
Pichardo R.
Sánchez Abanto J.
Ferreccio C.
Silva E.
Arenas M.
Chirinos J.
Medina-Lezama J.
Pérez C.
Schapochnik N.
Casas J.
Publisher(s)
Project Hope
Abstract
We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of administering a daily "polypill" consisting of three antihypertensive drugs, a statin, and aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease among high-risk patients in Latin America. We found that the lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease could be reduced by 15 percent in women and by 21 percent in men if the polypill were used by people with a risk of cardiovascular disease equal to or greater than 15 percent over ten years. Attaining this goal would require treating 26 percent of the population at a cost of $34-$36 per quality-adjusted life-year. Offering the polypill to women at high risk and to men age fifty-five or older would be the best approach and would yield acceptable incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. The polypill would be very cost-effective even in the country with the lowest gross national income in our study. However, policy makers must weigh the value of intervention with the polypill against other interventions, as well as their country's willingness and ability to pay for the intervention. © 2013 Project HOPE-The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.
Start page
155
End page
164
Volume
32
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Farmacología, Farmacia
Sistema cardiaco, Sistema cardiovascular
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84872083289
PubMed ID
Source
Health Affairs
ISSN of the container
02782715
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus