Confounding and indication for treatment in evaluation of drug treatment for hypertension

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Abstract
A sensible doctor prescribes drugs only to patients who need them—those who have indications that this treatment is required. Moreover, he or she will give priority to treating the most needy patients. When two patients seem to have indications but only one is being treated, the treated patient probably has more compelling indications than the second. The prognosis in any given group of treated patients will be different from that in untreated subjects because the latter will not generally have any indications for treatment. Furthermore, although many drugs can affect the course of a disease positively, the outcome in people with that disease compared with those who do not have it or have a less severe form …