Table 1.
Characteristics of study cohort at baseline
| Characteristic |
Antidepressant-only N 626,335 |
Antidepressant + statin N 46,482 |
All sample N 673,177 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age [SD] | 40.92 (16.54) | 67.13 (14.10) | 42.75 (17.69) |
| Sex | |||
| Male | 262,431 (41.90) | 26,314 (56.18) | 288,745 (42.89) |
| Read codes for depression | |||
| Major depression | 430,221 (68.69) | 27,834 (59.42) | 458,055 (68.04) |
| Minor depression | 176,528 (28.18) | 17,456 (37.27) | 193,984 (28.82) |
| Other | 19,586 (3.13) | 1,552 (3.31) | 21,138 (3.14) |
| PHQ-9 baseline [SD] | N 133,939 | N 10,408 | N 144,347 |
| 17.17 (4.92) | 16.07 (5.22) | 17.09 (4.95) | |
| Year of diagnosis | |||
| 1998 to 2005 | 190,673 (30.44) | 7,167 (15.30) | 197,840 (29.39) |
| 2006 to 2010 | 126,689 (20.23) | 12,728 (27.17) | 139,417 (20.71) |
| 2011 to 2015 | 145,690 (23.26) | 13,866 (29.60) | 159,556 (23.70) |
| 2016 to 2020 | 163,283 (26.07) | 13,081 (27.93) | 176,364 (26.20) |
| Body Mass Index [SD] | N 481,533 | N 42,587 | N 524,120 |
| 26.01 (5.85) | 28.77 (6.16) | 26.24 (5.93) | |
| Smoking (cigarettes/day) | N 574,590 | N 45,707 | N 620,297 |
| Non-smoker | 279,118 (48.58) | 20,821 (45.55) | 299,939 (48.35) |
| Ex-smoker | 102,395 (17.82) | 15,223 (33.31) | 117,618 (18.96) |
| Light-smoker (1–9) | 176,979 (30.80) | 9,031 (19.76) | 186,010 (29.99) |
| Moderate-smoker (10–19) | 11,374 (1.98) | 400 (0.88) | 11,774 (1.90) |
| Heavy-smoker (≥ 20) | 4,724 (0.82) | 232 (0.51) | 4,956 (0.80) |
| Alcohol (daily units) | N 311,478 | N 28,639 | N 340,117 |
| Non-drinker/trivial (< 1) | 170,934 (54.88) | 15,722 (54.90) | 186,656 (54.88) |
| Light (1–2) | 103,715 (33.30) | 8,737 (30.51) | 112,452 (33.06) |
| Medium (3–6) | 27,427 (8.81) | 3,299 (11.52) | 30,726 (9.03) |
| Heavy (7–9) | 4,233 (1.36) | 459 (1.60) | 4,692 (1.38) |
| Very heavy (> 9) | 5,169 (1.66) | 422 (1.47) | 5,591 (1.64) |
| Ethnic group | N 454,840 | N 38,483 | N 493,323 |
| White | 395,624 (86.98) | 34,237 (88.97) | 429,861 (87.14) |
| Indian | 7,104 (1.56) | 797 (2.07) | 7,901 (1.60) |
| Pakistani | 7494 (1.65) | 767 (1.99) | 8,261 (1.67) |
| Bangladeshi | 4,987 (1.10) | 609 (1.58) | 5,596 (1.13) |
| Other Asian | 6,674 (1.47) | 531 (1.38) | 7,205 (1.46) |
| Caribbean | 5,551 (1.22) | 452 (1.17) | 6,003 (1.22) |
| Black African | 8,004 (1.76) | 351 (0.91) | 8,355 (1.69) |
| Chinese | 2,010 (0.44) | 59 (0.15) | 2,069 (0.42) |
| Other | 17,392 (3.82) | 680 (1.77) | 18,072 (3.66) |
| Townsend deprivation score (in fifths) | N 624,118 | N 46,770 | N 670,888 |
| 1 (least deprived) | 127,305 (20.40) | 11,545 (24.68) | 138,850 (20.70) |
| 2 | 132,005 (21.15) | 10,746 (22.98) | 142,751 (21.28) |
| 3 | 131,087 (21.00) | 9,683 (20.70) | 140,770 (20.98) |
| 4 | 121,405 (19.45) | 8,222 (17.58) | 129,627 (19.32) |
| 5 (most deprived) | 112,316 (18.00) | 6,574 (14.06) | 118,890 (17.72) |
| Region of England | |||
| East Midlands | 23,054 (3.68) | 1,136 (2.43) | 24,190 (3.59) |
| East of England | 23,486 (3.75) | 1,742 (3.72) | 25,228 (3.75) |
| London | 130,577 (20.85) | 8,469 (18.08) | 139,046 (20.66) |
| North-East | 21,708 (3.47) | 1,687 (3.60) | 23,395 (3.48) |
| North-West | 122,774 (19.60) | 11,283 (24.09) | 134,057 (19.91) |
| South-Central | 80,591 (12.87) | 5,183 (11.06) | 85,774 (12.74) |
| South-East | 61,619 (9.84) | 4,902 (10.46) | 66,521 (9.88) |
| South-West | 71,044 (11.34) | 4,706 (10.05) | 75,750 (11.25) |
| West Midlands | 60,420 (9.65) | 5,490 (11.72) | 65,910 (9.79) |
| Yorkshire and Humber | 31,062 (4.96) | 2,244 (4.79) | 33,306 (4.95) |
| Comorbidities at baseline | |||
| Coronary heart disease | 9,030 (1.44) | 14,068 (30.03) | 23,098 (3.43) |
| Stroke | 8,934 (1.43) | 8,414 (17.96) | 17,348 (2.58) |
| Diabetes | 14,784 (2.36) | 14,879 (31.76) | 29,663 (4.41) |
| Epilepsy | 7,911 (1.26) | 953 (2.03) | 8,864 (1.32) |
| Hypothyroidism | 16,792 (2.68) | 4,076 (8.70) | 20,868 (3.10) |
| Arthritis | 32,637 (5.21) | 11,411 (24.36) | 44,048 (6.54) |
| Anxiety | 73,684 (11.76) | 5,230 (11.17) | 78,914 (11.72) |
| Migraine | 37,411 (5.97) | 2,287 (4.88) | 39,698 (5.90) |
| Cancer | 40,233 (6.42) | 8,789 (18.76) | 49,022 (7.28) |
| Asthma | 93,238 (14.89) | 8,451 (18.04) | 101,689 (15.11) |
| Renal failure | 1,339 (0.21) | 803 (1.71) | 2,142 (0.32) |
| Liver failure | 4,125 (0.66) | 1,122 (2.40) | 5,247 (0.78) |
| Osteoporosis | 5,939 (0.95) | 1,909 (4.08) | 7,848 (1.17) |
| Suicidality | 16,807 (2.68) | 677 (1.45) | 17,484 (2.60) |
| Antidepressant category at baseline | |||
| SSRIs | 539,367 (86.11) | 37,569 (80.20) | oth |
| TCAs | 43,420 (6.93) | 3,160 (6.75) | 46,580 (6.92) |
| MAOIs | 77 (0.01) | 8 (0.02) | 85 (0.01) |
| Other ADs | 43,471 (6.94) | 6,105 (13.03) | 49,576 (7.36) |
| Use of other drugs at baseline | |||
| Antihypertensives | 26,283 (4.20) | 24,753 (52.84) | 51,036 (7.58) |
| Aspirin | 11,672 (1.86) | 17,203 (36.73) | 28,875 (4.29) |
| Anticoagulants | 4,492 (0.72) | 3,523 (7.52) | 8,015 (1.19) |
| NSAIDs | 22,503 (3.59) | 2,466 (5.26) | 24,969 (3.71) |
| Anticonvulsants | 8,247 (1.32) | 2,223 (4.75) | 10,470 (1.56) |
| Hypnotics | 47,389 (7.57) | 4,788 (10.22) | 52,177 (7.75) |
| Bisphosphonates | 1,648 (0.26) | 661 (1.41) | 2,309 (0.34) |
| Contraceptives | 39,530 (6.31) | 143 (0.31) | 39,673 (5.89) |
Values are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise