The Effects of Anti-Hypertensive Drugs Evaluated Using Markov Modelling for Northern Ireland Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

The aim of this paper is to use Markov modelling to<br/>investigate survival for particular types of kidney patients<br/>in relation to their exposure to anti-hypertensive treatment<br/>drugs. In order to monitor kidney function an intuitive three<br/>point assessment is proposed through the collection of blood<br/>samples in relation to Chronic Kidney Disease for Northern<br/>Ireland patients. A five state Markov Model was devised<br/>using specific transition probabilities for males and<br/>females over all age groups. These transition probabilities<br/>were then adjusted appropriately using relative risk scores<br/>for the event death for different subgroups of patients. The<br/>model was built using TreeAge software package in order to<br/>explore the effects of anti-hypertensive drugs on patients.