aDepartment of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka City

bDepartment of Healthcare Administration and Management, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University Fukuoka City, Fukuoka, Japan

Correspondence to Dr Kenichi Goto, Department of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Maidashi 3-1-1, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. Tel: +81 92 642 6754; fax: +81 92 642 6754; e-mail: [email protected]

Abbreviations: 95% CI, 95% confidence interval; ANOVA, analysis of variance; ATC, Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System; BP, blood pressure; CCI, Charlson Comorbidity Index; ICD, International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems; JMDC, Japan Medical Data Center; JSH, The Japanese Society of Hypertension; OR, odds ratio; PDC, proportion of days covered; WHO, World Health Organization

Received 7 October, 2023

Revised 12 December, 2023

Accepted 4 January, 2024

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