Antihypertensive drugs and quality of life in the elderly.

In this article, the issues involved in the measurement of quality of life (QL) in clinical trials of anti-hypertensive drugs in the elderly are discussed. The specific choice of areas of QL to measure will be influenced by such factors as the length of the trial and the expected adverse effects or benefits of treatment. In measuring QL one should use methods that are valid, repeatable, and sensitive to change. With the elderly, interviewer-administered methods are preferable to self-administered ones, as subjects in poor health or with reading problems should be included. Interpretation of the results from the pilot trial of the Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program (SHEP) are discussed.