Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the study population according to OAC treatment
| Warfarin | Dabigatran | Rivaroxaban | Apixaban | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of patients | 11 427 | 7925 | 6817 | 6506 |
| Men | 6737 (59.0) | 4915 (62.0) | 3711 (54.4) | 3579 (55.0) |
| Age, years | ||||
| Mean (SE) | 74.6 (11.9) | 70.8 (11.3) | 74.7 (10.7) | 74.5 (11.1) |
| Median (25th–75th percentile) | 76 (67–84) | 71 (64–79) | 75 (68–83) | 75 (68-83) |
| ≥75 years | 6248 (54.7) | 2967 (37.4) | 3524 (51.7) | 3295 (50.6) |
| Medical history | ||||
| Chronic kidney disease | 569 (5.0) | 58 (0.73) | 135 (2.0) | 163 (2.5) |
| Chronic heart failure | 3316 (29.0) | 1250 (15.8) | 1388 (20.4) | 1341 (20.6) |
| Diabetes | 1674 (14.7) | 822 (10.4) | 794 (11.7) | 797 (12.3) |
| Stroke, TIA, and thromboembolism | 1329 (11.6) | 745 (9.4) | 1096 (16.1) | 905 (13.9) |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 4102 (35.9) | 1699 (21.4) | 1736 (25.5) | 1795 (27.6) |
| Previous bleeding hospitalization | 1922 (16.8) | 890 (11.2) | 1009 (14.8) | 982 (15.1) |
| Previous OAC (>180 days prior to index) | 2910 (25.5) | 900 (11.4) | 748 (11.0) | 527 (8.1) |
| Active cancer (last year) | 1145 (10.0) | 589 (7.4) | 625 (9.2) | 562 (8.6) |
| COPD | 1064 (9.3) | 518 (6.5) | 580 (8.5) | 567 (8.7) |
| Hypertension | 7654 (67.0) | 4677 (59.0) | 4500 (66.0) | 4254 (65.4) |
| Anaemia (last year) | 553 (4.8) | 155 (2.0) | 203 (3.0) | 201 (3.1) |
| Viral hepatitis | 25 (0.22) | 16 (0.20) | 7 (0.10) | 11 (0.17) |
| Hospital admission last year | 7734 (67.7) | 4422 (55.8) | 4460 (65.4) | 4412 (67.8) |
| Co-medication | ||||
| Low-dose aspirin (last year) | 5420 (47.4) | 3687 (46.5) | 3621 (53.1) | 3304 (50.8) |
| NSAID (last year) | 2264 (19.8) | 1937 (24.4) | 1583 (23.2) | 1498 (23.0) |
| Non-aspirin anti-platelet inhibitors (last year) | 278 (2.4) | 185 (2.3) | 231 (3.4) | 189 (2.9) |
| Risk scores | ||||
| Modified HAS-BLED score ≥ 3 | 4894 (42.8) | 2934 (37.0) | 3206 (47.0) | 3029 (46.6) |
| CHA2DS2-VASc score | ||||
| Mean | 3.09 | 2.46 | 2.94 | 2.93 |
| ≥2 | 9449 (82.7) | 5785 (73.0) | 5709 (83.7) | 5411 (83.2) |
| Co-morbidity score ≥ 1 | 7527 (65.6) | 3851 (48.6) | 4124 (60.5) | 3916 (60.2) |
| Reduced NOAC dose at index date | NA | 2758 (34.8) | 1824 (26.8) | 1901 (29.2) |
Values are numbers (percentages) unless otherwise stated.
COPD, chronic obstructive lung disease; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; OAC, oral anticoagulant; NOAC, non-vitamin K oral anticoagulant; SE, standard error; TIA, transitoric ischaemic attack.