Patterns of finasteride use in the male populations of four Nordic countries: A cross-national drug utilization study

Abstract

Objective Finasteride 5 mg is a drug used to treat prostate hyperplasia. Little is known about its pattern of usage. This cross-national analysis of individual-level data from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden was undertaken to appraise its usage and describe cross-national differences. Materials and methods Individual-level data from nationwide prescription registers in Denmark (1995–2009), Finland (1997–2010), Norway (2004–2009) and Sweden (July 2005–2011) were used to examine cross-national finasteride utilization patterns in the adult male population (≥15 years). The study presents period prevalences, incidence rates, waiting time distributions and Lorenz curves. Results During the study period, 295,620 men had at least one prescription redemption of finasteride 5 mg, and there were approximately 3 million dispensing events of finasteride prescriptions in the four Nordic countries. Different patterns of finasteride use were observed among the four Nordic countries. The period prevalence was markedly higher in Finland and Sweden than in Denmark and Norway. In 2009, period prevalences were 18.2/1000 males in Finland and 12.0/1000 males in Sweden compared to 6.7/1000 males in Norway and 4.9/1000 males in Denmark. Incidence rates of finasteride use for Finland, Norway and Sweden were about three times that for Denmark in 2008–2009. Long-term use of finasteride was found in all four Nordic countries with a high ratio between prevalent and incident users. Conclusion Despite resemblances regarding political systems and healthcare services in the Nordic countries, differences in finasteride utilization were found across Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Keywords:

• Benign prostatic hyperplasia
• cross-national
• drug utilization
• finasteride
• Nordic countries
• pharmacoepidemiology

Disclosure statement

TMK, AKE, EP, KBo, KS, PI, KBr, JH, and LCT declare: no conflict of interest. AG and ME declare: They have received finance from with Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. in the previous 3 years, but they have not received support from any organisation for the submitted work and they declare no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work. This article is based on data originating from a study conducted by Applied Economics and Health Research (ApEHR) as an independent research institute/organization based on a regulatory request from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and funded by Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp (MSD). MSD has had the opportunity to comment on the manuscript, but the authors retained the right to accept or reject comments or suggestions; however, no comments or suggestions were made by Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.