Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the Hemodialysis Cohort
| Baseline Characteristics | Unmatched Cohort | Propensity-Matched Cohort | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Dialyzability (Acebutolol, Atenolol, Metoprolol)a (n=7205) | Low Dialyzability (Propranolol, Bisoprolol)a (n=3350) | Standardized Differences (%) | High Dialyzability (Acebutolol, Atenolol, Metoprolol)a (n=3294) | Low Dialyzability (Propranolol, Bisoprolol)a (n = 3294) | Standardized Differences (%) | |
| Mean age±SD (yr) | 75.7±6.5 | 75.5±6.5 | 3 | 75.6±6.4 | 75.7±6.5 | 1 |
| Women, n (%) | 3429 (47.6) | 1636 (48.4) | 2 | 1617 (49.1) | 1617 (49.1) | 0 |
| Rural residence, n (%) | 812 (11.3) | 315 (9.4) | 6 | 391 (11.9) | 311 (9.4) | 8 |
| General measures of comorbidity (measured in the year before the index dateb) | ||||||
| Median no. of distinct prescription drugs (IQR) | 15 (10–21) | 13 (8–18) | 24c | 13 (8–19) | 13 (8–19) | 2 |
| Median duration of hemodialysis (first hemodialysis to index dateb) (IQR) (d) | 91 (16–684) | 24 (12–372) | 2 | 26 (12–438) | 24 (12–380) | 1 |
| Comorbidities (measured in the 5 yr before the index dateb), n (%) | ||||||
| Coronary artery diseased | 4907 (68.1) | 2070 (61.8) | 13c | 2069 (62.8) | 2055 (62.4) | 1 |
| Coronary revascularization | 1740 (24.2) | 617 (18.4) | 14c | 632 (19.2) | 615 (18.7) | 1 |
| Heart failure | 2921 (40.5) | 1031 (30.8) | 20c | 1037 (31.5) | 1022 (31.0) | 1 |
| Arrhythmiae | 2114 (29.3) | 860 (25.7) | 8 | 878 (26.7) | 853 (25.9) | 2 |
| Aortic aneurysm repair or bypass | 134 (1.9) | 32 (1.0) | 8 | 26 (0.8) | 32 (1.0) | 2 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 1007 (14.0) | 216 (6.5) | 25c | 222 (6.7) | 216 (6.6) | 1 |
| Stroke or TIA | 426 (5.9) | 149 (4.5) | 7 | 152 (4.6) | 149 (4.5) | 0 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 2331 (32.4) | 815 (24.3) | 18c | 841 (25.5) | 811 (24.6) | 2 |
| β-blocker dosef (measured at the index dateb) | ||||||
| Low dose, n (%) | 6204 (86.1) | 3046 (90.9) | 15c | 2996 (91.0) | 2996 (91.0) | 0 |
| Medications (measured in the 180 d before the index dateb), n (%) | ||||||
| αBlockers | 678 (9.4) | 202 (6.0) | 13c | 222 (6.7) | 202 (6.1) | 2 |
| ACE inhibitors | 3217 (44.7) | 1446 (43.2) | 3 | 1436 (43.6) | 1419 (43.1) | 1 |
| ARB | 1648 (22.9) | 847 (25.3) | 6 | 784 (23.8) | 837 (25.4) | 4 |
| CCB | 3466 (48.1) | 1341 (40.0) | 16c | 1321 (40.1) | 1330 (40.4) | 1 |
| Digoxin | 555 (7.7) | 274 (8.2) | 2 | 237 (7.2) | 270 (8.2) | 4 |
| Statins | 4110 (57.0) | 1920 (57.3) | 1 | 1916 (58.2) | 1894 (57.5) | 1 |
| Warfarin | 1860 (25.8) | 913 (27.3) | 3 | 854 (25.9) | 905 (27.5) | 4 |
| β-Blockers | ||||||
| Acebutolol | 229 (3.2) | – | – | 88 (2.7) | – | – |
| Atenolol | 1948 (27.0) | – | – | 900 (27.3) | – | – |
| Metoprolol | 5028 (69.8) | – | – | 2306 (70.0) | – | – |
| Bisoprolol | – | 3223 (96.2) | – | – | 3169 (96.2) | – |
| Propranolol | – | 127 (3.8) | – | – | 125 (3.8) | – |
| Propensity score probability (propensity of receiving a high-dialyzability β-blocker) | ||||||
| Mean±SD | 0.71±0.15 | 0.61±0.13 | 72c | 0.62±0.12 | 0.62±0.13 | 2 |
| Median (IQR) | 0.73 (0.59–0.84) | 0.59 (0.52–0.70) | 72c | 0.59 (0.52–0.70) | 0.59 (0.52–0.70) | 2 |
“Acebutolol” refers to acebutolol HCl; “metoprolol” refers to metoprolol tartrate; “bisoprolol” refers to bisoprolol fumarate
“Index date” is defined as the day of the first new study β-blocker prescription filled during hemodialysis.
Significant standardized differences (≥10%).
“Coronary artery disease” includes myocardial infarction, angina, and percutaneous coronary interventions
“Arrhythmia” includes brady and tachyarrhythmias.
Definitions of “high” or “low” dose were based on the recommendations found in each product’s monograph. High doses: acebutolol, ≥400 mg/d; atenolol, >50 mg/d; metoprolol, >100 mg/d; propranolol, ≥160 mg/d; bisoprolol, >5 mg/d.
TIA, transient ischemic attack; IQR, interquartile range, ACE, angiotensin-converting enzyme; ARB, angiotensin-receptor blocker; CCB, calcium-channel blocker.