Table 2.
Class-specific Characteristics at the Time of Atrial Fibrillation Diagnosis for Direct Oral Anticoagulant Users
| Initiators in months 6–11 (Class 1) n=800 | Initiators in months 1–5 (Class 2) n=1,368 | Patients with suboptimal and decreasing adherence (Class 3) n=2,267 | Continuously adherent users (Class 4) n=5,043 | P valuea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD), year | 77 (8.7) | 78 (8.3) | 76 (8.8) | 77 (8.3) | <0.001 |
| Male, No. (%) | 324 (41) | 528 (39) | 1,036 (46) | 2,094 (42) | <0.001 |
| Race, No. (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| White | 702 (88) | 1,231 (90) | 1,997 (88) | 4,576 (91) | |
| Black | 45 (5.6) | 64 (4.7) | 164 (7.2) | 222 (4.4) | |
| Other | 53 (6.6) | 73 (5.3) | 106 (4.7) | 245 (4.9) | |
| Medicaid, No. (%) | 195 (24) | 294 (21) | 473 (21) | 952 (19) | 0.001 |
| Income Subsidy, No. (%) | 246 (31) | 417 (30) | 678 (30) | 1,393 (28) | 0.04 |
| SES, mean (SD) | 0.22 (1.1) | 0.28 (1.1) | 0.19 (1.1) | 0.33 (1.1) | <0.001 |
| Dissimilarity, mean (SD) | 0.48(0.17) | 0.49 (0.17) | 0.48 (0.17) | 0.49 (0.16) | 0.02 |
| Rural, No. (%) | 179 (22) | 305 (22) | 492 (22) | 1,043 (21) | 0.44 |
| Region, No. (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| Midwest | 166 (21) | 282 (21) | 562 (25) | 1,157 (23) | |
| Northeast | 181 (23) | 296 (22) | 457 (20) | 1,285 (25) | |
| Southeast | 246 (31) | 486 (36) | 710 (31) | 1,510 (30) | |
| Southwest | 99 (12.4) | 138 (10.1) | 230 (10.2) | 462 (9.2) | |
| West | 108 (14) | 166 (12) | 308 (14) | 629 (12) | |
| CHA2DS2-VASc, mean (SD)c | 4.8 (1.7) | 4.8 (1.7) | 4.7 (1.7) | 4.7 (1.7) | 0.002 |
| HAS-BLED, mean (SD)c | 3.0 (1.1) | 3.0 (1.1) | 3.0 (1.1) | 2.8 (1.0) | <0.001 |
| Alzheimer’s Disease or Dementia, No. (%)c | 120 (15) | 219 (16) | 283 (12) | 579 (11) | <0.001 |
| NSAID or Antiplatelet use, No. (%)c | 220 (28) | 382 (28) | 622 (27) | 1,283 (25) | 0.12 |
| Antiarrhythmic Medication Use, No. (%)b,c | 56 (7.0) | 81 (5.9) | 244 (10.8) | 401 (8.0) | <0.001 |
Abbreviations: SES=Social Economic Status; NSAID= Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs
a.
p value: F test of ANOVA for continuous variables and chi-square test for categorical variables;
b.
Antiarrhythmic medications included amiodarone, dronaderone, and verapamil;
c.
Clinical characteristics were defined based on 12 months of claims data prior to AF diagnosis.