Table 2.
Baseline patient characteristics of the patients on dabigatran 110 mg twice daily (D110) or dabigatran 150 mg twice daily (D150), matched to vitamin K antagonists (VKA). All standardized differences were < 5% (see Supplementary Figures 2B and 3B for distribution of standardized differences)
| Matched populations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D110 n = 14 442 | Matched VKA n = 14 442 | D150 n = 8389 | Matched VKA n = 8389 | |
| Sex, n (%) | ||||
| Male | 7077 (49.0) | 7077 (49.0) | 5634 (67.2) | 5634 (67.2) |
| Age at index date (in years) | ||||
| Mean (± SD) | 78.6 (9.1) | 78.6 (9.1) | 67.3 (9.0) | 67.3 (9.1) |
| Age at index date (in categories), n (%) | ||||
| <60 years | 553 (3.8) | 545 (3.8) | 1509 (18.0) | 1502 (17.9) |
| 60–69 years | 1672 (11.6) | 1710 (11.8) | 3239 (38.6) | 3229 (38.5) |
| 70–79 years | 4420 (30.6) | 4425 (30.6) | 3173 (37.8) | 3168 (37.8) |
| ≥ 80 years | 7797 (54.0) | 7762 (53.7) | 468 (5.6) | 490 (5.8) |
| Stroke risk factors (score), n (%) | ||||
| Congestive heart failure | 2966 (20.5) | 3030 (21.0) | 1083 (12.9) | 1132 (13.5) |
| Hypertension | 6651 (46.1) | 6681 (46.3) | 2793 (33.3) | 2962 (35.3) |
| Age > 65 years | 13 056 (90.4) | 13 048 (90.3) | 5123 (61.1) | 5147 (61.4) |
| Age 65–74 years | 2635 (18.2) | 2636 (18.3) | 3611 (43.0) | 3583 (42.7) |
| Age ≥ 75 years | 10 622 (73.5) | 10 609 (73.5) | 1881 (22.4) | 1903 (22.7) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 3016 (20.9) | 3171 (22.0) | 1811 (21.6) | 2001 (23.9) |
| Stroke or transient ischaemic attack | 1980 (13.7) | 1969 (13.6) | 801 (9.5) | 865 (10.3) |
| Stroke | 1691 (11.7) | 1702 (11.8) | 676 (8.1) | 762 (9.1) |
| Vascular disease | 2165 (15.0) | 2022 (14.0) | 843 (10.0) | 1028 (12.3) |
| Abnormal renal function | 705 (4.9) | 776 (5.4) | 137 (1.6) | 175 (2.1) |
| Abnormal liver function | 245 (1.7) | 207 (1.4) | 115 (1.4) | 166 (2.0) |
| Bleeding history | 342 (2.4) | 328 (2.3) | 104 (1.2) | 163 (1.9) |
| Medication usage predisposing to bleeding | 8596 (59.5) | 8413 (58.3) | 4479 (53.4) | 4821 (57.5) |
| CHA 2 DS 2 ‐VASc score, n (%) | ||||
| 0–1 | 1290 (8.9) | 1331 (9.2)) | 3024 (36.0) | 2882 (34.3) |
| 2 | 2562 (17.7) | 2472 (17.1) | 2196 (26.2) | 2120 (25.3) |
| >2 | 10 590 (73.4) | 10 639 (73.7) | 3169 (37.8) | 3387 (40.4) |
| HAS‐BLED score, n (%) | ||||
| 0 | 442 (3.0) | 426 (3.0) | 1187 (14.1) | 987 (11.8) |
| 1 | 3172 (22.0) | 3165 (21.9) | 2842 (33.9) | 2681 (32.0) |
| 2 | 5727 (39.7) | 5856 (40.5) | 2786 (33.2) | 2996 (35.7) |
| 3 | 3894 (27.0) | 3832 (26.5) | 1299 (15.5) | 1406 (16.8) |
| >3 | 1207 (8.3) | 1163 (8.1) | 275 (3.3) | 319 (3,8) |
| First drug exposure duration per patient (in days) | ||||
| Median | 205.0 | 251.0 | 246.0 | 206.0 |
| Interquartile range | 66.0–365.0 | 110.0–365.0 | 87.0–365.0 | 90.0–365.0 |