Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients poststroke in the BZD and non-BZD cohorts after propensity score matching
| BZD use | P value | ||||
| Yes (n=3758) | No (n=3758) | ||||
| n | % | n | % | ||
| Age (years) | 66.2±14.9 | 66.3±14.7 | 0.941 | ||
| Sex | 0.267 | ||||
| Male | 2455 | 65.3 | 2409 | 64.1 | |
| Female | 1303 | 34.7 | 1349 | 35.9 | |
| Income level (NTD) | 0.816 | ||||
| Financially dependent | 1123 | 29.9 | 1125 | 29.9 | |
| 1–19 999 | 1801 | 47.9 | 1826 | 48.6 | |
| 20 000–39 999 | 522 | 13.9 | 516 | 13.7 | |
| ≥40 000 | 312 | 8.3 | 291 | 7.7 | |
| Urbanisation level | 0.732 | ||||
| 1 (most urbanised) | 974 | 25.9 | 985 | 26.2 | |
| 2 | 993 | 26.4 | 1010 | 26.9 | |
| 3 | 791 | 21.0 | 744 | 19.8 | |
| 4 | 579 | 15.4 | 580 | 15.4 | |
| 5 (least urbanised) | 421 | 11.2 | 439 | 11.7 | |
| Comorbidities | |||||
| Charlson Comorbidity Index | 2.26±1.50 | 2.27±1.63 | 0.837 | ||
| Hypertension | 2666 | 70.9 | 2666 | 70.9 | 1.000 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 1263 | 33.6 | 1256 | 33.4 | 0.864 |
| COPD | 247 | 6.6 | 265 | 7.1 | 0.410 |
| Asthma | 114 | 3.0 | 112 | 3.0 | 0.893 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 180 | 4.8 | 198 | 5.3 | 0.342 |
| Cirrhosis | 200 | 5.3 | 207 | 5.5 | 0.721 |
| Coronary artery disease | 491 | 13.1 | 528 | 14.1 | 0.213 |
| Congestive heart failure | 192 | 5.1 | 202 | 5.4 | 0.605 |
| Pneumoconiosis | 6 | 0.2 | 7 | 0.2 | 0.781 |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 1096 | 29.2 | 1080 | 28.7 | 0.684 |
| Malignancy | 188 | 5.0 | 176 | 4.7 | 0.519 |
| Dementia | 207 | 5.5 | 208 | 5.5 | 0.960 |
| Depression | 34 | 0.9 | 50 | 1.3 | 0.079 |
| Parkinsonism | 107 | 2.8 | 106 | 2.8 | 0.945 |
| Epilepsy | 24 | 0.6 | 26 | 0.7 | 0.777 |
| Bipolar disorders | 3 | 0.1 | 3 | 0.1 | 1.000 |
| Alcohol-related disorders | 14 | 0.4 | 19 | 0.5 | 0.383 |
| Substance use disorders | 18 | 0.5 | 18 | 0.5 | 1.000 |
| Schizophrenia | 18 | 0.5 | 16 | 0.4 | 0.731 |
| Anxiety | 90 | 2.4 | 104 | 2.8 | 0.309 |
| Sleep disorders | 170 | 4.5 | 186 | 4.9 | 0.385 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index at the end point of follow-up | 2.03±1.79 | 2.13±2.06 | 0.022 | ||
| Stroke severity proxies | |||||
| Estimated NIHSS | 8.0±6.0 | 7.7±5.8 | 0.061 | ||
| ICU utilisation | 937 | 24.9 | 871 | 23.2 | 0.075 |
| Mechanical ventilation | 308 | 8.2 | 299 | 8.0 | 0.703 |
| Hemiplegia | 562 | 15.0 | 530 | 14.1 | 0.295 |
| Aphasia | 69 | 1.8 | 63 | 1.7 | 0.598 |
| Neurosurgery | 202 | 5.4 | 210 | 5.6 | 0.685 |
| Use of medication | |||||
| Steroids | 109 | 2.9 | 116 | 3.1 | 0.636 |
| Antidiabetic agents | 795 | 21.2 | 821 | 21.8 | 0.465 |
| Antihypertensive agents | 1676 | 44.6 | 1715 | 45.6 | 0.366 |
| Statins | 319 | 8.5 | 332 | 8.8 | 0.594 |
| Proton pump inhibitors | 89 | 2.4 | 97 | 2.6 | 0.553 |
| Antiepileptics | 70 | 1.9 | 82 | 2.2 | 0.325 |
| Antiparkinsonian | 92 | 2.4 | 90 | 2.4 | 0.881 |
| Antipsychotics | 76 | 2.0 | 85 | 2.3 | 0.473 |
| Anxiolytics | 246 | 6.5 | 286 | 7.6 | 0.072 |
| Hypnotics and sedatives | 156 | 4.2 | 180 | 4.8 | 0.180 |
| Antidepressants | 79 | 2.1 | 97 | 2.6 | 0.170 |
Continuous data expressed as mean±SD and categorical data expressed as number and percentage.
BZD, benzodiazepine; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ICU, intensive care unit; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.; NTD, New Taiwan dollars.