Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of the study subjects
| Variables | Before matching | After matching | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACEi cohort | ARB cohort | P-value | ACEi cohort | ARB cohort | P-value | |||||
| Number of patients | 15,196 | 7,283 | 6,226 | 6,226 | ||||||
| Index year | ||||||||||
| 2000 | 3,763 | 24.76% | 768 | 10.55% | <0.0001 | 736 | 11.82% | 768 | 12.34% | 0.9693 |
| 2001 | 2,985 | 19.64% | 884 | 12.14% | 883 | 14.18% | 880 | 14.13% | ||
| 2002 | 2,552 | 16.79% | 1,109 | 15.23% | 1,068 | 17.15% | 1,047 | 16.82% | ||
| 2003 | 2,017 | 13.27% | 1,336 | 18.34% | 1,132 | 18.18% | 1,130 | 18.15% | ||
| 2004 | 2,002 | 13.17% | 1,695 | 23.27% | 1,264 | 20.30% | 1,264 | 20.30% | ||
| 2005 | 1,877 | 12.35% | 1,491 | 20.47% | 1,143 | 18.36% | 1,137 | 18.26% | ||
| Age (years, SD) | 68.15±9.77 | 66.75±9.95 | <0.0001 | 67.43±10.01 | 67.24±9.82 | 0.2919 | ||||
| Male gender | 11,071 | 72.85% | 4,983 | 68.42% | <0.0001 | 4,405 | 70.75% | 4,359 | 70.01% | 0.3666 |
| Monthly income NT$, n (%) | ||||||||||
| <19,100 | 6,597 | 43.41% | 2,973 | 40.82% | <0.0001 | 2,658 | 42.69% | 2,625 | 42.16% | 0.8336 |
| 19,100–41,999 | 7,050 | 46.39% | 3,262 | 44.79% | 2,784 | 44.72% | 2,807 | 45.09% | ||
| ≥42,000 | 1,549 | 10.19% | 1,048 | 14.39% | 784 | 12.59% | 794 | 12.75% | ||
| Hospital level, n (%) | ||||||||||
| Level 1 | 3,360 | 22.11% | 3,095 | 42.50% | <0.0001 | 2,374 | 38.13% | 2,366 | 38.00% | 0.593 |
| Level 2 | 3,625 | 23.85% | 2,254 | 30.95% | 1,959 | 31.46% | 1,994 | 32.03% | ||
| Level 3 | 3,088 | 20.32% | 1,335 | 18.33% | 1,319 | 21.19% | 1,267 | 20.35% | ||
| Level 4 | 5,123 | 33.71% | 599 | 8.22% | 574 | 9.22% | 599 | 9.62% | ||
| Severe AE (count 1 year before index date) | ||||||||||
| 0 | 10,277 | 67.63% | 5,354 | 73.51% | <0.0001 | 4,466 | 71.73% | 4,446 | 71.41% | 0.9181 |
| 1 | 2,190 | 14.41% | 918 | 12.60% | 827 | 13.28% | 833 | 13.38% | ||
| 2+ | 2,729 | 17.96% | 1,011 | 13.88% | 933 | 14.99% | 947 | 15.21% | ||
| Baseline comorbidities | ||||||||||
| Charlson score | 1.82±1.06 | 1.80±1.05 | 0.4771 | 1.84±1.07 | 1.82±1.05 | 0.3405 | ||||
| Myocardial infarction | 391 | 2.57% | 131 | 1.80% | 0.0003 | 142 | 2.28% | 128 | 2.06% | 0.389 |
| Congestive heart failure | 2,164 | 14.24% | 849 | 11.66% | <0.0001 | 824 | 13.23% | 796 | 12.79% | 0.4557 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 156 | 1.03% | 71 | 0.97% | 0.7167 | 70 | 1.12% | 59 | 0.95% | 0.3303 |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 1,675 | 11.02% | 786 | 10.79% | 0.6047 | 687 | 11.03% | 679 | 10.91% | 0.8186 |
| Dementia | 181 | 1.19% | 87 | 1.19% | 0.9822 | 81 | 1.30% | 75 | 1.20% | 0.6288 |
| Rheumatologic disease | 141 | 0.93% | 74 | 1.02% | 0.5249 | 60 | 0.96% | 66 | 1.06% | 0.5911 |
| Peptic ulcer disease | 2,830 | 18.62% | 1,187 | 16.30% | <0.0001 | 1,087 | 17.46% | 1,068 | 17.15% | 0.6526 |
| Hemiplegia or paraplegia | 23 | 0.15% | 15 | 0.21% | 0.3510 | 9 | 0.14% | 10 | 0.16% | 0.8184 |
| Renal disease | 458 | 3.01% | 275 | 3.78% | 0.0026 | 216 | 3.47% | 228 | 3.66% | 0.562 |
| Diabetes | 1,650 | 10.86% | 933 | 12.81% | <0.0001 | 799 | 12.83% | 787 | 12.64% | 0.747 |
| Moderate or severe liver disease | 682 | 4.49% | 337 | 4.63% | 0.6387 | 281 | 4.51% | 299 | 4.80% | 0.444 |
| Tumor | 410 | 2.70% | 223 | 3.06% | 0.1228 | 202 | 3.24% | 191 | 3.07% | 0.5729 |
| Medication for hypertension | ||||||||||
| Alpha-blocker | 2,056 | 13.53% | 936 | 12.85% | 0.1613 | 846 | 13.59% | 831 | 13.35% | 0.6938 |
| Beta-blocker | 6,354 | 41.81% | 3,156 | 43.33% | 0.0309 | 2,671 | 42.90% | 2,671 | 42.90% | 1 |
| Calcium channel blocker | 9,748 | 64.15% | 5,128 | 70.41% | <0.0001 | 4,299 | 69.05% | 4,306 | 69.16% | 0.892 |
| Diuretic | 7,825 | 51.49% | 3,474 | 47.70% | <0.0001 | 3,095 | 49.71% | 3,042 | 48.86% | 0.3421 |
| Other medication | ||||||||||
| Aspirin | 2,220 | 14.61% | 1,115 | 15.31% | 0.1667 | 953 | 15.31% | 927 | 14.89% | 0.5152 |
| Clopidogrel | 356 | 2.34% | 340 | 4.67% | <0.0001 | 265 | 4.26% | 267 | 4.29% | 0.9294 |
| Ticlopidine | 591 | 3.89% | 237 | 3.25% | 0.0180 | 219 | 3.52% | 220 | 3.53% | 0.9612 |
| Dipyridamole | 4,415 | 29.05% | 1,563 | 21.46% | <0.0001 | 1,444 | 23.19% | 1,432 | 23.00% | 0.7986 |
| Nitrate | 46 | 0.30% | 23 | 0.32% | 0.8681 | 21 | 0.34% | 22 | 0.35% | 0.8786 |
| Statin | 1,167 | 7.68% | 1,031 | 14.16% | <0.0001 | 725 | 11.64% | 733 | 11.77% | 0.8236 |
| NSAID | 12,905 | 84.92% | 5,929 | 81.41% | <0.0001 | 5,073 | 81.48% | 5,111 | 82.09% | 0.3776 |
| Anti-hyperglycemic drugs | 2,560 | 16.85% | 1,275 | 17.51% | 0.2183 | 1,127 | 18.10% | 1,102 | 17.70% | 0.5589 |
| Proton-pump inhibitor | 1,211 | 7.97% | 611 | 8.39% | 0.2800 | 547 | 8.79% | 533 | 8.56% | 0.6558 |
| COPD drug | ||||||||||
| Long-acting beta-agonist | 670 | 4.41% | 396 | 5.44% | 0.0007 | 317 | 5.09% | 327 | 5.25% | 0.6857 |
| Short-acting beta-agonist | 3,171 | 20.87% | 1,432 | 19.66% | 0.0361 | 1,253 | 20.13% | 1,236 | 19.85% | 0.7032 |
| Long-acting muscarinic antagonist | 85 | 0.56% | 80 | 1.10% | <0.0001 | 59 | 0.95% | 60 | 0.96% | 0.9266 |
| Inhaled corticosteroid | 2,323 | 15.29% | 1,479 | 20.31% | <0.0001 | 1,147 | 18.42% | 1,196 | 19.21% | 0.2612 |
Abbreviations: AE, acute exacerbation; ACEi, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor; ARB, angiotensin II receptor blocker; NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.