Table 1.
Characteristics of study at the baseline.
| Anticholinergic medications | With | Without | P | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variables | n | % | n | % | |
| Total | 197,560 | 25.00 | 592,680 | 75.00 | |
| Sex | 0.999 | ||||
| Male | 101,059 | 51.15 | 303,177 | 51.15 | |
| Female | 96,501 | 48.85 | 289,503 | 48.85 | |
| Age (years) | 64.32 ± 9.99 | 64.35 ± 9.89 | 0.244 | ||
| Age group (years) | 0.999 | ||||
| 50–64 | 100,465 | 50.85 | 301,395 | 50.85 | |
| 65–79 | 58,012 | 29.36 | 174,036 | 29.36 | |
| ≧80 | 39,083 | 19.78 | 117,249 | 19.78 | |
| Education (years) | 0.576 | ||||
| < 12 | 108,345 | 54.84 | 325,632 | 54.94 | |
| ≧12 | 89,215 | 45.16 | 267,048 | 45.06 | |
| Insured premium (NT$) | 0.286 | ||||
| < 18,000 | 164,558 | 83.30 | 493,129 | 83.20 | |
| 18,000–34,999 | 20,090 | 10.17 | 61,208 | 10.33 | |
| ≧35,000 | 12,912 | 6.54 | 38,343 | 6.47 | |
| Diabetes mellitus | 33,513 | 16.96 | 107,557 | 18.15 | <0.001 |
| Hypertension | 51,933 | 26.29 | 131,234 | 22.14 | <0.001 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 8,869 | 4.49 | 18,374 | 3.10 | <0.001 |
| Stroke | 16,884 | 8.55 | 59,213 | 9.99 | <0.001 |
| Heart failure | 5,238 | 2.65 | 20,211 | 3.41 | <0.001 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 115 | 0.06 | 412 | 0.07 | 0.996 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 3,578 | 1.81 | 11,103 | 1.87 | 0.186 |
| Angina | 3,294 | 1.67 | 9,788 | 1.65 | 0.737 |
| Myocardial infarction | 6,475 | 3.28 | 17,677 | 2.98 | <0.001 |
| Deep vein thrombosis | 496 | 0.25 | 1,325 | 0.22 | 0.124 |
| Parkinson's disease | 1,347 | 0.68 | 4,533 | 0.76 | 0.006 |
| Epilepsy | 441 | 0.22 | 1,791 | 0.30 | 0.001 |
| Hemiplegia & paraplegia | 2,568 | 1.30 | 10,927 | 1.84 | <0.001 |
| Headaches | 1,024 | 0.52 | 2,718 | 0.46 | 0.013 |
| Back or neck pain | 477 | 0.24 | 1,831 | 0.31 | 0.002 |
| Peripheral neuropathy | 2,113 | 1.07 | 6,755 | 1.14 | 0.062 |
| Meniere's disease | 619 | 0.31 | 3,201 | 0.54 | 0.001 |
| Restless leg syndrome | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary syndrome | 12,753 | 6.46 | 55,060 | 9.29 | <0.001 |
| Asthma | 4,171 | 2.11 | 17,827 | 3.01 | <0.001 |
| Rhinitis | 1,077 | 0.55 | 1,904 | 0.32 | <0.001 |
| Gastroesophageal reflux | 659 | 0.33 | 5 | <0.01 | <0.001 |
| Peptic or gastric ulcer | 13,322 | 6.74 | 47,185 | 7.96 | <0.001 |
| Irritable bowel syndrome | 212 | 0.11 | 680 | 0.11 | 0.998 |
| Inflammatory bowel disease | 139 | 0.07 | 501 | 0.08 | 0.184 |
| Liver disease | 6,378 | 3.23 | 35,096 | 5.92 | <0.001 |
| Osteoarthritis | 6,804 | 3.44 | 16,088 | 2.71 | <0.001 |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 767 | 0.39 | 2,333 | 0.39 | 0.865 |
| Eczema & dermatitis | 1,010 | 0.51 | 3,113 | 0.53 | 0.682 |
| Psoriasis | 176 | 0.09 | 509 | 0.09 | 0.797 |
| Urinary incontinence | 154 | 0.08 | 379 | 0.06 | 0.257 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 6,759 | 3.42 | 35,768 | 6.03 | <0.001 |
| Cancer | 17,149 | 8.68 | 55,829 | 9.42 | <0.001 |
| Prostatism | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Falls | 8,180 | 4.14 | 20,135 | 3.40 | 0.002 |
| Fractures | 18,795 | 9.51 | 44,736 | 7.55 | <0.001 |
| Obesity | 96 | 0.05 | 172 | 0.03 | 0.014 |
| Depression | 1,425 | 0.72 | 330 | 0.06 | <0.001 |
| Bipolar disorder | 201 | 0.10 | 469 | 0.08 | 0.042 |
| Anxiety | 1,562 | 0.79 | 3,811 | 0.64 | 0.002 |
| Non-organic sleep disorders | 1,939 | 0.98 | 4,442 | 0.75 | 0.001 |
| Organic sleep disorders | 3 | <0.01 | 1 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Psychotic disorders | 1,495 | 0.76 | 4,720 | 0.80 | 0.297 |
| Location | <0.001 | ||||
| Northern Taiwan | 77,954 | 39.46 | 229,607 | 38.74 | |
| Middle Taiwan | 56,611 | 28.66 | 168,415 | 28.42 | |
| Southern Taiwan | 51,434 | 26.03 | 154,980 | 26.15 | |
| Eastern Taiwan | 10,674 | 5.40 | 36,810 | 6.21 | |
| Outlets islands | 887 | 0.45 | 2,868 | 0.48 | |
| Urbanization level | <0.001 | ||||
| 1 (The highest) | 63,609 | 32.20 | 195,570 | 33.00 | |
| 2 | 89,528 | 45.32 | 259,075 | 43.71 | |
| 3 | 13,068 | 6.61 | 42,383 | 7.15 | |
| 4 (The lowest) | 31,355 | 15.87 | 95,652 | 16.14 | |
| Level of care | <0.001 | ||||
| Medical center | 74,815 | 37.87 | 212,693 | 35.89 | |
| Regional hospital | 78,602 | 39.79 | 203,733 | 34.37 | |
| Local hospital | 44,143 | 22.34 | 176,254 | 29.74 | |
P, Chi-square test on category variables and t-test on the continuous variables; NT$, New Taiwan Dollars.