SynthesisBMC geriatrics2017
Effectiveness and safety of beta blockers in the management of hypertension in older adults: a systematic review to help reduce inappropriate prescribing.
Synthesis in BMC geriatrics, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Use of an electronic decision support tool to reduce polypharmacy in elderly people with chronic diseases: cluster randomised controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2020Trial
- Preliminary Cost-Effectiveness of Re-Purposing β-Blockers as an Adjunct Treatment for Women with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Application of UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS Method for Quantification of Beta-Adrenergic Blocking Agents (β-Blockers) in Human Postmortem Specimens.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Comparative effectiveness of antihypertensive monotherapies in primary prevention of cardiovascular events-a real-world longitudinal inception cohort study.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Hallmarks of cardiovascular ageing.Nature reviews. Cardiology · 2023Review
- Article
- Development of a shared decision-making intervention to improve drug safety and to reduce polypharmacy in frail elderly patients living at home.PEC innovation · 2022Article
- Sexual history taking: Doctors' clinical decision-making in primary care in the North West province, South Africa.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2021Article
- Amorphous Form of Carvedilol Phosphate-The Case of Divergent Properties.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Efficacy and safety of nebivolol in Korean patients with hypertension by age and sex: a subanalysis from the BENEFIT-KOREA study.Clinical hypertension · 2021Article
- Association of Beta Blocker Use With Bone Mineral Density in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study: A Cross-Sectional Study.JBMR plus · 2020Article
- Comprehensive Trends and Patterns of Antihypertensive Prescriptions Using a Nationwide Claims Database in Korea.Clinical epidemiology · 2020Article
- Current problems in burn hypermetabolism.Current problems in surgery · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe benefit from a blood pressure lowering therapy with beta blockers may not outweigh its risks, especially in older populations. The aim of this study was to look for evidence on risks and benefits of beta blockers in older adults and to use this evidence to develop recommendations for the electronic decision support tool of the PRIMA-eDS project.
methodsSystematic review of the literature using a stage approach with searches for systematic reviews and meta-analyses first, and individual studies only if the previous searches are inconclusive. The target population were older adults (≥65 years old) with hypertension. We included studies reporting on the effectiveness and/or safety of beta blockers on clinically relevant endpoints (e.g. mortality, cardiovascular events, and stroke) in the management of hypertension. The recommendations were developed according to the GRADE methodology.
resultsFifteen studies were included, comprising one meta-analysis, four randomized controlled trials, six secondary analyses of randomized controlled trials and four observational studies. Seven studies involved only older adults and eight studies reported subgroup analyses by age. With regard to a composite endpoint (death, stroke or myocardial infarction) beta blockers were associated with a higher risk of events then were other antihypertensive agents. Further, beta blockers showed no benefit compared to other antihypertensive agents or placebo regarding mortality. They appear to be less effective than other antihypertensive agents in reducing cardiovascular events. Contradictory results were found regarding the effect of beta blockers on stroke. None of the studies explored the effect on quality of life, hospitalisation, functional impairment/status, safety endpoints or renal failure.
conclusionThe quality of current evidence to interpret the benefits of beta blockers in hypertension is rather weak. It cannot be recommended to use beta blockers in older adults as first line agent for hypertension.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.