Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics and person-years of follow-up in users of cardiovascular drugs; prescription data between 1 January 1989 and 31 December 1995.
| β-adrenoceptor blockers | Calcium channel blockers | ACE- inhibitors | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
| Ever users* | 31 462 | (100) | 27 788 | (100) | 17 897 | (100) |
| Men | 13 029 | (41) | 13 636 | (49) | 8 865 | (50) |
| Women | 18 433 | (59) | 14 152 | (51) | 9 032 | (50) |
| Year of first entry1 | ||||||
| 1989 | 9106 | (29) | 5515 | (20) | 2248 | (13) |
| 1990 | 4120 | (13) | 3077 | (11) | 1896 | (11) |
| 1991 | 3418 | (11) | 3859 | (14) | 2394 | (13) |
| 1992 | 3627 | (12) | 4040 | (15) | 2763 | (15) |
| 1993 | 3565 | (11) | 3800 | (14) | 2674 | (15) |
| 1994 | 3990 | (13) | 4035 | (14) | 3027 | (17) |
| 1995 | 3636 | (11) | 3462 | (12) | 2895 | (16) |
| Age at first entry (years) | ||||||
| <49 | 10 677 | (34) | 4271 | (16) | 3842 | (21) |
| 50–64 | 9632 | (31) | 8667 | (31) | 5838 | (33) |
| 65–79 | 9278 | (29) | 11 719 | (42) | 6507 | (36) |
| ≥80 | 1875 | (6) | 3313 | (11) | 1710 | (10) |
| Person-years of follow-up | ||||||
| Total | 118 558 | 89 295 | 52 151 | |||
| Average (range) | 3.8 (0–7) | 3.2 (0–7) | 2.9(0–7) | |||
| Ever use of other drugs2 | ||||||
| Antidepressants | 5287 | (17) | 4597 | (17) | 2834 | (16) |
| Neuroleptics | 4785 | (15) | 4251 | (15) | 2342 | (13) |
| Statins | 422 | (1) | 496 | (2) | 258 | (2) |
| Migraine drugs | 2232 | (7) | 934 | (3) | 574 | (3) |
*
The study covers a total of 58 529 different individuals of whom a considerable number is included in two or three user groups.
1
Date of first prescription of the relevant drug.
2
Ever use of the drugs in the cohort during the period 1 January 1989 to 31 December 1995.