Table 1.
Characteristics of patients and prescribers at anticoagulant treatment initiation (2011–2015)
| VKA N=506 821 |
Dabigatran N=94 468 |
Rivaroxaban N=169 524 |
Apixaban N=43 633 |
|
| Demographic characteristics | ||||
| Mean age (SD) | 75.6 (11.9) | 74.1 (11.3) | 73.0 (11.5) | 76.2 (11.1) |
| Male | 49.3% | 52.3% | 52.0% | 49.5% |
| Clinical characteristics* | ||||
| High blood pressure | 95.4% | 92.1% | 92.5% | 94.7% |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 28.6% | 19.7% | 17.4% | 17.6% |
| Heart failure | 27.8% | 18.9% | 15.2% | 21.5% |
| Diabetes | 23.6% | 19.9% | 19.7% | 20.8% |
| Cancer | 16.5% | 14.0% | 12.8% | 11.1% |
| Renal failure | 10.9% | 2.3% | 2.4% | 4.1% |
| Liver failure | 1.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.6% |
| Dementia | 5.2% | 3.1% | 2.9% | 3.3% |
| History of ischaemic stroke | 9.6% | 8.4% | 6.0% | 9.0% |
| History of bleeding | 6.3% | 2.9% | 3.1% | 3.9% |
| HAS-BLED score, mean (SD) | 2.7 (0.9) | 2.4 (0.9) | 2.4 (0.9) | 2.5 (0.9) |
| CHA2DS2-VASc, mean (SD) | 3.9 (1.5) | 3.5 (1.5) | 3.3 (1.4) | 3.7 (1.4) |
| Other treatments at cohort entry† | ||||
| Aspirin | 45.8% | 43.3% | 40.9% | 43.6% |
| NSAIDs | 13.7% | 16.6% | 16.9% | 13.0% |
| Antiplatelet agents (other than aspirin) | 15.8% | 12.1% | 10.9% | 12.4% |
| Corticosteroids | 14.0% | 12.2% | 12.7% | 12.1% |
| Protons-pump inhibitors | 48.9% | 40.7% | 41.2% | 43.9% |
| Prescriber of first anticoagulant | ||||
| General practitioner | 64.4% | 50.2% | 51.9% | 50.4% |
| Cardiologist | 22.2% | 38.9% | 38.0% | 37.9% |
| Other specialist | 4.8% | 4.4% | 4.7% | 4.6% |
| Unknown | 8.6% | 6.5% | 5.4% | 7.1% |
*D efined in the 12 months prior to cohort entry.
†Defined in the 3 months prior to cohort entry.
NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; SD, standard deviation; VKA, vitamin K antagonist.