Table 1.
Characteristics of patients initiating a new statin treatment in Quebec RAMQ database in 1999–2004
| Atorvastatin | Fluvastatin | Lovastatin | Pravastatin | Rosuvastatin | Simvastatin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of patients | 70 269 | 2207 | 812 | 13 660 | 7782 | 16 747 |
| Follow-up time (continuous) | 1 055 (±606) | 1514 (±614) | 1498 (±644) | 1 322 (±642) | 427 (±135) | 1 157 (±603) |
| Mean dose (mg) | 13 (±6) | 26 (±10) | 21 (±6) | 20 (±8) | 11 (±3) | 17 (±9) |
| Mean age (continuous)† | 63 (±10) | 63 (±10) | 63 (±10) | 64 (±10) | 63 (±10) | 64 (±10) |
| Sex (% male) | 42 | 35 | 34 | 37 | 45 | 41 |
| Social assistance (%)† | 16 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 14 |
| Diabetes mellitus (%)‡ | 21 | 15 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 23 |
| Hypertension (%)‡ | 49 | 46 | 43 | 48 | 52 | 52 |
| Respiratory diseases (%)‡ | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Antidepressant drugs (%)‡ | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
| Anxiolytic drugs (%)‡ | 25 | 27 | 29 | 26 | 24 | 26 |
| Dose distribution† | ||||||
| 5 mg | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 6% |
| 10 mg | 78% | 0% | 7% | 16% | 95% | 43% |
| 20 mg | 19% | 62% | 87% | 70% | 4% | 44% |
| 40 mg | 1% | 38% | 6% | 8% | 0% | 7% |
| 80 mg | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
†
At the treatment initiation.
‡
ICD-9 or pharmacological treatment in the year prior to the cohort entry.