Table 1.
Baseline characteristics by glucose‐lowering regimen
| Characteristic | Insulin | Metformin | Sulphonylureas | Regimens with a low risk of hypoglycaemia | Regimens with higher hypoglycaemia risk excluding insulin | Regimens with higher hypoglycaemia risk including insulin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 6827 | 76 821 | 14 834 | 101 740 | 50 094 | 66 046 |
| Males, n (%) | 3819(56) | 43 985 (57) | 7675 (52) | 58 299 (57) | 29 213 (58) | 38 372 (58) |
| Age at index, mean (SD), years | 66.3 (12.9) | 62.5 (12.4) | 69.7 (12.3) | 62.1 (12.2) | 65.3 (12.5) | 65 (12.5) |
| Duration of diabetes, median (IQR), years | 7.5 (3‐12.9) | 0.5 (0‐3.1) | 2.6 (0.4 to 6.1) | 1.4 (0.1‐4.5) | 3.9 (1.4‐7.2) | 4.7 (1.7‐8.6) |
| Ever smoked, n (%) | 4063 (60) | 44 157 (57) | 8377 (56) | 58 559 (58) | 28 844 (58) | 38 343 (58) |
| Serum creatinine, median (IQR), μmol/L | 99 (77‐143) | 82 (71‐95) | 91 (76‐119) | 82 (70‐95) | 84 (72‐100) | 85 (72‐102) |
| BMI, mean (SD), kg/m2 | 29.8 (6.6) | 32.4 (6.4) | 29.3 (6) | 32.6 (6.4) | 30.6 (6.1) | 30.7 (6.2) |
| Systolic blood pressure, mean (SD), mmHg | 134.1 (18.5) | 137 (16.1) | 135.4 (17.4) | 136.5 (15.9) | 135.3 (16) | 135.2 (16.3) |
| Total cholesterol, mean (SD), mmol/L | 4.5 (1.4) | 4.9 (1.3) | 4.7 (1.3) | 4.8 (1.2) | 4.5 (1.2) | 4.5 (1.2) |
| Charlson comorbidity index, median (IQR) | 3 (2‐5) | 2 (1‐3) | 3 (1‐4) | 2 (1‐3) | 2 (1‐3) | 2 (1‐3) |
| Prior cancer, n (%) | 870 (13) | 5863 (8) | 1918 (13) | 7594 (7) | 4759 (10) | 6335 (10) |
| Prior large vessel disease, n (%) | 2501 (37) | 15 173 (20) | 4537 (31) | 19 878 (20%) | 12 148 (24) | 17 216 (26) |
| Prior vision problems, n (%) | 2982 (44) | 15 382 (20) | 4941 (33) | 23 102 (23) | 15 799 (32) | 22 633 (34) |
| Prior microalbuminuria, n (%) | 720 (11) | 1738 (2) | 860 (6%) | 3352 (3) | 2960 (14) | 4598 (7) |
| Prior renal, n (%) | 2482 (36) | 7888 (10) | 4066 (27) | 11 444 (11) | 9102 (18) | 13 193 (20) |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; IQR, interquartile range.