Table 1.

Patient characteristics. Values are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise

Variables	Study population (n=15 278)
Sex:
Women	10 190 (66.7)
Men	5088 (33.3)
Mean (SD) age (years)	74.5 (5.5)
Age group:
65-74	7685 (50.3)
75-84	6966 (45.6)
≥85	627 (4.1)
Subtype of major neurocognitive disorders:
Alzheimer’s disease	3339 (21.9)
Parkinson's dementia	990 (6.5)
Vascular dementia	230 (1.5)
Mixed type (more than one subtype)	149 (1.0)
Other or unspecified	10 570 (69.2)
Drug sequence:
Cholinesterase inhibitors before antipsychotic	6688 (43.8)
Antipsychotic before cholinesterase inhibitors	8289 (54.2)
Used concomitantly	301 (2.0)
Comorbidities:
Depression	932 (6.1)
Parkinson’s disease	287 (1.9)
Epilepsy	60 (0.4)
Hypertension	7776 (50.9)
Diabetes mellitus	3347 (21.9)
Hyperlipidaemia	3353 (21.9)
Coronary artery disease	3229 (21.1)
Atrial fibrillation	217 (1.4)
Heart failure	589 (3.9)
Ischaemic stroke	1573 (10.3)
Osteoarthritis	4703 (30.8)
Osteoporosis	1553 (10.2)
Cataract	4261 (27.9)
Co-administered drugs:
Antidepressants	1947 (12.7)
Psychostimulants	861 (5.6)
Anxiolytics	7904 (51.7)
Hypnotics and sedatives	3337 (21.8)
Antiparkinsonian agents	651 (4.3)
Anticonvulsants	1178 (7.7)
Muscle relaxants	6730 (44.1)
Vasodilators	4993 (32.7)
Antihypertensive drugs	1651 (10.8)
Diuretics	3461 (22.7)
Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors	4377 (28.6)
β blockers	4841 (31.7)
Calcium channel blockers	5988 (39.2)
Antidiabetes drugs	2801 (18.3)
Lipid modifying agents	2631 (17.2)
Antiarrhythmic agents (classes 1 and 3)	435 (2.8)
Antithrombotic agents	5018 (32.8)
Steroids (systemic use)	4238 (27.7)
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs	11 430 (74.8)
Bisphosphonates	199 (1.3)
Parasympathomimetic drugs	314 (2.1)
Antihistamines	9734 (63.7)