Table 4.
Baseline patient characteristics (patients grouped according to treatment order)
| Characteristics |
EZE + BEZA |
BEZA + EZE |
BEZA & EZE |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | mean ± SD/% | n | mean ± SD/% | n | mean ± SD/% | |
| Age (years) |
174 |
62.5 ± 12.9 |
257 |
59.2 ± 12.0 |
228 |
61.2 ± 14.2 |
| Men (%) |
94 |
54.0 |
173 |
67.3 |
117 |
51.3 |
| With complications (%) |
152 |
87.4 |
220 |
85.6 |
179 |
78.5 |
| Concurrent disease |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Hypertension (%) |
106 |
60.9 |
141 |
54.9 |
121 |
53.1 |
| Diabetes (%) |
61 |
35.1 |
100 |
38.9 |
69 |
30.3 |
| Hepatic disease (%) |
34 |
19.5 |
68 |
26.5 |
50 |
21.9 |
| Cardiac disease (%) |
8 |
4.6 |
19 |
7.4 |
19 |
8.3 |
| Renal disease (%) |
2 |
1.1 |
8 |
3.1 |
10 |
4.4 |
| Purpose of combination therapya |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Primary prevention (%) |
152 |
87.4 |
245 |
95.3 |
207 |
90.8 |
| Secondary prevention (%) |
5 |
2.9 |
11 |
4.3 |
10 |
4.4 |
| Unknown (%) |
17 |
9.8 |
1 |
0.4 |
11 |
4.8 |
| Concomitant medications |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Drugs for hypertension (%) |
104 |
59.8 |
141 |
54.9 |
110 |
48.2 |
| Drugs for diabetes (%) |
44 |
25.3 |
72 |
28.0 |
47 |
20.6 |
| Statin (%) | 3 | 1.7 | 4 | 1.6 | 7 | 3.1 |
Data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation or n and percent.
aDefined according to the Guidelines for the Prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease 2007 [9]. EZE + BEZA: patients who were already taking ezetimibe and then added bezafibrate at the start of the study; BEZA + EZE: patients who were already taking bezafibrate and then added ezetimibe at the start of the study; BEZA & EZE: patients who started bezafibrate and ezetimibe concurrently.