Labelling of hypertensive patients

Letters to the Editors

LABELLING

OF HYPERTENSIVE

enjoyed reading Alderman and Lamport’s “Special Communication” on labelling of hypertensives [ 11. In this communication they make reference to the failure of the Medical Research Council’s trial to demonstrate in a formal way any increased psychiatric symptomatology in those labelled hypertensive. This failure has always seemed to me to be discordant with their findings published during the trial [2]. A questionnaire on the prevalence of symptoms following treatment demonstrated that 8.9% of men who were receiving placebo tablets complained of impotence at 12 weeks and 10.1% complained of impotence at 2 years. (This in the light of the fact that 17% of respondents chose not to answer the question about impotence.) I find it

I

Editors’

459

difficult through psyche.

PATIENTS

to accept that this was mediated the soma rather than through the

JAMES MCCORMICK Department of Communiry Health University of Dublin Dublin 2, Eire

REFERENCES I.

2.

Alderman MH, Lamport B. Special Communication. Labelling of hypertensives: a review of the data. J Clin Epidemiol 1990; 43: 195-200. Medical Research Council Working Party on Mild to Moderate Hypertension. Adverse reactions to bendrofluazide and propranalol for the treatment of mild hypertension. Lancet 1981; ii: 539-543.

note--Although invited, Dr Alderman

declined

to respond.