TABLE 1.
Baseline characteristics in patients with atrial fibrillation in the cohort study.
| All | NOACs + OCS burst | Warfarin + OCS burst | SMD1 | SMD2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 50,390 | n = 33,431 | n = 16,959 | |||
| Age, mean (SD) | 73.84 (11.11) | 75.62 (10.12) | 70.34 (12.10) | 0.47 | 0.00 |
| Sex, n (%) | |||||
| Male | 28,520 (56.60) | 19,118 (57.19) | 9402 (55.44) | 0.04 | 0.00 |
| Female | 21,870 (43.40) | 14,313 (42.81) | 7557 (44.56) | 0.04 | 0.00 |
| Residence, n (%) | |||||
| Urban group low | 8069 (16.05) | 5422 (16.26) | 2647 (15.64) | 0.02 | 0.00 |
| Urban group medium | 16,866 (33.55) | 11,015 (33.03) | 5851 (34.56) | 0.03 | 0.00 |
| Urban group high | 25,342 (50.40) | 16,912 (50.71) | 8430 (49.80) | 0.02 | 0.00 |
| Insurance amount, TWD, n (%) | |||||
| 0–20,000 | 15,320 (30.40) | 9741 (29.14) | 5579 (32.90) | 0.08 | 0.00 |
| 20,000–40,000 | 26,376 (52.34) | 17,795 (53.23) | 8581 (50.60) | 0.05 | 0.00 |
| ≥ 40000 | 8694 (17.25) | 5895 (17.63) | 2799 (16.50) | 0.03 | 0.00 |
| CCI score, mean (std) | 2.67 (2.14) | 2.78 (2.17) | 2.47 (2.06) | 0.15 | 0.00 |
| CCI score, median (q1‐q3) | 2 (1–4) | 2 (1–4) | 2 (1–4) | ||
| Myocardial infarction, n (%) | |||||
| No | 48,350 (95.95) | 32,048 (95.86) | 16,302 (96.13) | 0.01 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 2040 (4.05) | 1383 (4.14) | 657 (3.87) | 0.01 | 0.00 |
| Congestive heart failure, n (%) | |||||
| No | 30,004 (59.54) | 20,188 (60.39) | 9816 (57.88) | 0.05 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 20,386 (40.46) | 13,243 (39.61) | 7143 (42.12) | 0.05 | 0.00 |
| Peripheral vascular disease, n (%) | |||||
| No | 47,679 (94.62) | 31,714 (94.86) | 15,965 (94.14) | 0.03 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 2711 (5.38) | 1717 (5.14) | 994 (5.86) | 0.03 | 0.00 |
| Stroke, n (%) | |||||
| No | 39,763 (78.91) | 26,202 (78.38) | 13,561 (79.96) | 0.04 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 10,627 (21.09) | 7229 (21.62) | 3398 (20.04) | 0.04 | 0.00 |
| Transient ischemic attack, n (%) | |||||
| No | 48,004 (95.26) | 31,756 (94.99) | 16,248 (95.81) | 0.04 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 2386 (4.74) | 1675 (5.01) | 711 (4.19) | 0.04 | 0.00 |
| Dementia, n (%) | |||||
| No | 46,368 (92.02) | 30,398 (90.93) | 15,970 (94.17) | 0.12 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 4022 (7.98) | 3033 (9.07) | 989 (5.83) | 0.12 | 0.00 |
| Chronic pulmonary disease, n (%) | |||||
| No | 31,590 (62.69) | 20,841 (62.34) | 10,749 (63.38) | 0.02 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 18,800 (37.31) | 12,590 (37.66) | 6210 (36.62) | 0.02 | 0.00 |
| Anemia, n (%) | |||||
| No | 46,794 (92.86) | 30,990 (92.70) | 15,804 (93.19) | 0.02 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 3596 (7.14) | 2441 (7.30) | 1155 (6.81) | 0.02 | 0.00 |
| Kidney diseases, n (%) | |||||
| No | 40,202 (79.78) | 25,971 (77.69) | 14,231 (83.91) | 0.16 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 10,188 (20.22) | 7460 (22.31) | 2728 (16.09) | 0.16 | 0.00 |
| Hepatic diseases, n (%) | |||||
| No | 47,058 (93.39) | 31,341 (93.75) | 15,717 (92.68) | 0.04 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 3332 (6.61) | 2090 (6.25) | 1242 (7.32) | 0.04 | 0.00 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | |||||
| No | 15,582 (30.92) | 9137 (27.33) | 6445 (38.00) | 0.23 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 34,808 (69.08) | 24,294 (72.67) | 10,514 (62.00) | 0.23 | 0.00 |
| Alcohol use, n (%) | |||||
| No | 50,268 (99.76) | 33,344 (99.74) | 16,924 (99.79) | 0.01 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 122 (0.24) | 87 (0.26) | 35 (0.21) | 0.01 | 0.00 |
| Number of outpatient visits, mean (SD) | 42.87 (23.45) | 43.05 (23.68) | 42.51 (22.97) | 0.02 | 0.00 |
| Number of outpatient visits, median (IQR) | 38 (26–55) | 38 (26–55) | 38 (26–54) | ||
| Number of inpatient visits, mean (SD) | 0.98 (1.56) | 1.01 (1.59) | 0.91 (1.50) | 0.06 | 0.00 |
| Number of inpatient visits, median (IQR) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | ||
| NSAIDs, n (%) | |||||
| No | 17,797 (35.32) | 14,228 (37.54) | 5085 (29.98) | 0.17 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 32,593 (64.68) | 23,671 (62.46) | 11,874 (70.02) | 0.17 | 0.00 |
| Proton pump inhibitors, n (%) | |||||
| No | 42,513 (84.37) | 30,537 (80.57) | 15,034 (88.65) | 0.18 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 7877 (15.63) | 7362 (19.43) | 1925 (11.35) | 0.18 | 0.00 |
| Antihypertensives, n (%) | |||||
| No | 16,256 (32.26) | 14,768 (38.97) | 3106 (18.31) | 0.48 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 34,134 (67.74) | 23,131 (61.03) | 13,853 (81.69) | 0.48 | 0.00 |
| Clopidogrel, n (%) | |||||
| No | 47,028 (93.33) | 34,522 (91.09) | 16,523 (97.43) | 0.27 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 3362 (6.67) | 3377 (8.91) | 436 (2.57) | 0.27 | 0.00 |
| Ticlopidine, n (%) | |||||
| No | 49,880 (98.99) | 37,416 (98.73) | 16,837 (99.28) | 0.05 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 510 (1.01) | 483 (1.27) | 122 (0.72) | 0.05 | 0.00 |
| Insulin, n (%) | |||||
| No | 47,136 (93.54) | 35,116 (92.66) | 16,178 (95.39) | 0.12 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 3254 (6.46) | 2783 (7.34) | 781 (4.61) | 0.12 | 0.00 |
| Oral hypoglycemic agents, n (%) | |||||
| No | 39,736 (78.86) | 28,363 (74.84) | 14,767 (87.07) | 0.32 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 10,654 (21.14) | 9536 (25.16) | 2192 (12.93) | 0.32 | 0.00 |
| Lipid lowering agents, n (%) | |||||
| No | 34,453 (68.37) | 22,793 (60.14) | 14,375 (84.76) | 0.57 | 0.00 |
| Yes | 15,937 (31.63) | 15,106 (39.86) | 2584 (15.24) | 0.57 | 0.00 |
Note: SMD1 is computed before overlap weighting. SMD2 is computed after overlap weighting.
Abbreviations: CCI, Charlson Comorbidity Index; IQR, interquartile range; NOAC, non–vitamin K anticoagulant; NSAIDs, non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs; OCS, oral corticosteroid; SD, standard deviation; SMD, standardized mean difference; TWD, Taiwanese new dollar.