Table 1. Sample characteristics of 21,636 men and women of the EPIC-Norfolk (1993/1997-2009/2011) according to the total anticholinergic burden (ACB) score.
| ACB score 0 group (n=17,317) | ACB score 1 group (n=2,704) | ACB score 2-3 group (n=1,324) | ACB score >3 group (n=291) | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 57.9 (9.1) | 62.9 (8.8) | 62.2 (9.2) | 63.1 (8.9) | 0.07 |
| Sex | 0.003 | ||||
| Men | 8,068 (47) | 1,348 (50) | 593 (45) | 126 (43) | |
| Women | 9,249 (53) | 1,356 (50) | 731 (55) | 165 (57) | |
| Social class | <0.0001* | ||||
| Professional | 1,268 (7) | 164 (6) | 68 (5) | 19 (7) | |
| Manager | 6,475 (37) | 927 (34) | 446 (34) | 80 (27) | |
| Skilled non-manual | 2,806 (16) | 464 (17) | 234 (18) | 58 (20) | |
| Skilled manual | 3,978 (23) | 637 (24) | 321 (24) | 78 (27) | |
| Semi-skilled | 2,239 (13) | 403 (15) | 193 (15) | 43 (15) | |
| Non-skilled | 551 (3) | 109 (4) | 62 (5) | 13 (4) | |
| Smoking | <0.0001* | ||||
| Current-smoker | 2,038 (12) | 256 (9) | 155 (12) | 51 (18) | |
| Ex-smoker | 7,153 (41) | 1,324 (49) | 626 (47) | 122 (42) | |
| Never smoker | 8,126 (47) | 1,124 (42) | 543 (41) | 118 (41) | |
| Alcohol use (units/week) | 7.5 (9.6) | 6.8 (9.6) | 6.0 (8.3) | 5.2 (7.9) | <0.0001 |
| Education level | <0.0001* | ||||
| No qualification | 5,827 (34) | 1,152 (43) | 598 (45) | 132 (45) | |
| 0-Level | 1,886 (11) | 255 (9) | 111 (8) | 25 (9) | |
| A-Level | 7,202 (42) | 1039 (38) | 504 (38) | 108 (37) | |
| Higher degree | 2,402 (14) | 258 (10) | 113 (9) | 26 (9) | |
| Physical activity | <0.0001* | ||||
| Inactive | 4,608 (27) | 1,037 (38) | 552 (42) | 142 (49) | |
| Moderately inactive | 5,017 (29) | 760 (28) | 361 (27) | 86 (30) | |
| Moderately active | 4,187 (24) | 520 (19) | 234 (18) | 40 (14) | |
| Active | 3,505 (20) | 387 (14) | 177 (13) | 23 (8) | |
| Cholesterol (mmol/L) | 6.1 (1.1) | 6.3 (1.2) | 6.3 (1.2) | 6.4 (1.1) | <0.0001 |
| Systolic BP (mmHg) | 134 (18) | 140 (19) | 137 (19) | 138 (19) | 0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 26.1 (3.7) | 27.0 (4.2) | 26.9 (4.1) | 27.2 (4.4) | <0.0001 |
| COPD | 1,425 (8) | 346 (13) | 184 (14) | 40 (14) | <0.0001 |
| Asthma | 896 (5) | 630 (23) | 204 (15) | 58 (20) | <0.0001 |
| Previous MI | 253 (1) | 222 (8) | 153 (12) | 31 (11) | <0.0001 |
| Previous stroke | 131 (1) | 78 (3) | 52 (4) | 13 (4) | <0.0001 |
| Diabetes | 286 (2) | 102 (4) | 59 (4) | 17 (6) | <0.0001 |
| Aspirin use | 1,234 (7) | 479 (18) | 268 (20) | 65 (22) | <0.0001 |
| New CVD events | 4,939 (29) | 1,459 (54) | 751 (57) | 179 (62) | <0.0001 |
| Deaths | 2,833 (16) | 887 (33) | 498 (38) | 124 (43) | <0.0001 |
Values presented are mean (sd) for continuous and number (%) for categorical data. *overall P value. BP=blood pressure, BMI = body mass index, COPD= chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; MI=myocardial infarction, CVD= cardiovascular diseases. Total anticholinergic burden (ACB) calculated as a score which is the sum of the [number of class 1 anticholinergic drugs, the number of class 2 anticholinergic drugs x2 and the number class 3 anticholinergic drugs x3]. Classification of drugs with ACB class 1, 2 and 3 based on criteria of Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale (Boustani MA, et al 2008;4:311–320).