Table 1.
Baseline characteristics by antihypertensive medication groups in VA nursing home residents
| No medication (n=8,718) |
1–2 medication (n=20,544) |
≥3 medication (n=7,372) |
P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 78 (8.7) | 78 (8.4) | 76.9 (8.2) | <.001 |
| Sex, female | 197 (2.3%) | 471 (2.3%) | 154 (2.1%) | 0.595 |
| Race | ||||
| Black | 1,255 (14.4%) | 3,340 (16.3%) | 1,557 (21.1%) | <.001 |
| White | 6,573 (75.4%) | 15,408 (75.0%) | 5,197 (70.5%) | |
| Asian | 131 (1.5%) | 301 (1.5%) | 93 (1.3%) | |
| American Indian | 64 (0.7%) | 134 (0.7%) | 53 (0.7%) | |
| Unknown | 695 (8.0%) | 1361 (6.6%) | 472 (6.4%) | |
| Height, cm | 175.0 (9.0) | 175.2 (9) | 175.8 (9.2) | <.001 |
| Weight, kg | 78.7 (18.9) | 86.7 (21.9) | 95.2 (25) | <.001 |
| Smoking status | ||||
| Current | 2,381 (27.3%) | 5,148 (25.1%) | 1,771 (24.0%) | <.001 |
| Former | 3,371 (38.7%) | 8,721 (42.5%) | 3,265 (44.3%) | |
| Never | 1,301 (14.9%) | 3,657 (17.8%) | 1,258 (17.1%) | |
| Unknown | 1,665 (19.1%) | 3,018 (14.7%) | 1,078 (14.6%) | |
| SBP, mmHg | 123.2 (14.6) | 127.7 (15.3) | 131.1 (16.6) | <.001 |
| DBP, mmHg | 69.7 (8.2) | 69.6 (8.1) | 69.4 (8.4) | 0.046 |
| Activities of daily living | ||||
| 0 | 517 (5.9%) | 1,187 (5.8%) | 478 (6.5%) | <.001 |
| 1–14 | 3,669 (42.1%) | 9,096 (44.3%) | 3,474 (47.1%) | |
| 15–27 | 3,999 (45.9%) | 9,446 (46.0%) | 3,249 (44.1%) | |
| 28 | 533 (6.1%) | 815 (4.0%) | 171 (2.3%) | |
| Cognitive Function Scale | ||||
| Cognitively intact | 1,960 (22.5%) | 5,074 (24.7%) | 1,998 (27.1%) | <.001 |
| Mildly impaired | 2,860 (32.8%) | 7,498 (36.5%) | 3,048 (41.3%) | |
| Moderately impaired | 2,021 (23.2%) | 4,407 (21.5%) | 1,351 (18.3%) | |
| Severely impaired | 1,877 (21.5%) | 3,565 (17.4%) | 975 (13.2%) | |
| Hypertension | 5,030 (57.7%) | 18,046 (87.8%) | 6,907 (93.7%) | <.001 |
| Cardiovascular disease * | 4,352 (49.9%) | 14,180 (69.0%) | 5,919 (80.3%) | <.001 |
| Heart Failure | 1,243 (14.3%) | 7,009 (34.1%) | 4,264 (57.8%) | <.001 |
| Arterial fibrillation | 2,526 (29.0%) | 5,812 (28.3%) | 2,675 (36.3%) | <.001 |
| Kidney disease | 2,603 (29.9%) | 8,761 (42.6%) | 3,902 (52.9%) | <.001 |
| Dementia | 4,356 (50.0%) | 8,802 (42.8%) | 2,599 (35.3%) | <.001 |
Notes: Data was mean (standard deviation) or n (%) and compared using Kruskal-wills or chi-square test. Abbreviation: SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure.
*
Cardiovascular disease including coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease.