Table 1.
Characteristics of patients starting a new statin treatment in the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec database in 1998–2000
| Entire cohort | Atorvastatin | Fluvastatin | Lovastatin | Pravastatin | Simvastatin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. patients | 20 543 | 10 208 | 1254 | 442 | 4850 | 3789 |
| Nonfatal CAD events (%) | 1 535 (7.5) | 647 (6.0) | 95 (7.6) | 44 (10) | 421 (8.7) | 328 (8.7) |
| Mean age (continuous)* | 58 (±5) | 58 (±5) | 58 (±5) | 58 (±5) | 58 (±5) | 58 (±5) |
| Mean dose | 18 (±11)† | 12 (±5) | 27 (±9) | 21 (±4) | 19 (±7) | 15 (±7) |
| Follow-up time (days) (continuous) | 586 (±322) | 510 (±278) | 688 (±349) | 700 (±367) | 660 (±345) | 649 (±340) |
| Sex (male vs. female) (%) | 37 | 39 | 33 | 37 | 35 | 36 |
| Social assistance (yes vs. no) (%)* | 29 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 26 | 26 |
| Diabetes mellitus (yes vs. no) (%)‡ | 19 | 20 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 20 |
| Hypertension (yes vs. no) (%)‡ | 45 | 45 | 48 | 41 | 45 | 46 |
| Dose distribution (mg) (%)* | ||||||
| 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 10 | 79 | 0 | 6 | 19 | 52 | |
| 20 | 19 | 66 | 89 | 75 | 39 | |
| 40 | 1 | 34 | 5 | 6 | 3 | |
| 80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
*
At treatment initiation.
†
Statins equivalent to simvastatin dose during follow-up [46].Simvastatin 10 mg = lovastatin 20 mg = pravastatin 20 mg = fluvastatin 40 mg = atorvastatin 5 mg.
‡
ICD-9 or pharmacological treatment before the index date.