Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients before IPTW.
| Non-Chronic Use Category | Chronic Use Category | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Non-User (n = 355,498) |
New User (n = 912) |
Former User (n = 4737) |
Long-Term User (n = 4354) |
MASD |
| Age, years | 68.6 ± 11.8 | 69.5 ± 11.1 | 69.6 ± 11.1 | 70.0 ± 10.8 | 0.12 |
| Age group, year | |||||
| 40–64 years | 131,323 (36.9) | 299 (32.8) | 1527 (32.2) | 1321 (30.3) | 0.14 |
| 65–74 years | 106,785 (30.0) | 290 (31.8) | 1553 (32.8) | 1451 (33.3) | 0.07 |
| ≥75 years | 117,390 (33.0) | 323 (35.4) | 1657 (35.0) | 1582 (36.3) | 0.07 |
| Male sex | 202,812 (57.1) | 686 (75.2) | 3678 (77.6) | 3553 (81.6) | 0.50 |
| Hospital level | |||||
| Medical center (teaching hospital) | 102,367 (28.8) | 266 (29.2) | 1359 (28.7) | 1380 (31.7) | 0.07 |
| Regional/district hospital | 253,131 (71.2) | 646 (70.8) | 3378 (71.3) | 2974 (68.3) | 0.07 |
| Comorbidity | |||||
| Previous ischemic stroke | 34,395 (9.7) | 95 (10.4) | 454 (9.6) | 501 (11.5) | 0.07 |
| Previous hemorrhagic stroke | 3910 (1.10) | 12 (1.32) | 45 (0.95) | 42 (0.96) | 0.04 |
| Gout | 18,267 (5.1) | 601 (65.9) | 3484 (73.5) | 3670 (84.3) | 3.08 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 136,455 (38.4) | 344 (37.7) | 1688 (35.6) | 1489 (34.2) | 0.09 |
| Hypertension | 265,395 (74.7) | 768 (84.2) | 4077 (86.1) | 3813 (87.6) | 0.30 |
| Previous myocardial infarction | 7104 (2.0) | 30 (3.3) | 152 (3.2) | 180 (4.1) | 0.15 |
| Coronary artery disease | 68,294 (19.2) | 254 (27.9) | 1246 (26.3) | 1213 (27.9) | 0.22 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 9352 (2.6) | 95 (10.4) | 420 (8.9) | 504 (11.6) | 0.54 |
| COPD | 30,791 (8.7) | 130 (14.3) | 576 (12.2) | 498 (11.4) | 0.20 |
| Dyslipidemia | 116,734 (32.8) | 352 (38.6) | 1939 (40.9) | 1689 (38.8) | 0.17 |
| Previous malignancy | 15,448 (4.3) | 32 (3.5) | 232 (4.9) | 191 (4.4) | 0.07 |
| Carotid stenting or endarterectomy | 654 (0.18) | 2 (0.22) | 9 (0.19) | 16 (0.37) | 0.04 |
| CCI score | 2.5 ± 1.6 | 2.9 ± 1.8 | 2.7 ± 1.8 | 2.8 ± 1.7 | 0.27 |
| Estimated NIHSS | 6.6 ± 5.1 | 6.5 ± 5.0 | 6.7 ± 5.3 | 6.8 ± 5.3 | 0.04 |
| Estimated NIHSS group | |||||
| ≤5 | 244,478 (68.8) | 629 (69.0) | 3285 (69.3) | 2933 (67.4) | 0.04 |
| 6–13 | 68,757 (19.3) | 187 (20.5) | 869 (18.3) | 875 (20.1) | 0.06 |
| >13 | 42,263 (11.9) | 96 (10.5) | 583 (12.3) | 546 (12.5) | 0.06 |
| Anti-hypertensive agent | |||||
| ACEI/ARB | 164,366 (46.2) | 498 (54.6) | 2504 (52.9) | 2381 (54.7) | 0.17 |
| CCB | 149,514 (42.1) | 458 (50.2) | 2289 (48.3) | 2319 (53.3) | 0.23 |
| Alpha-blocker | 20,721 (5.8) | 82 (9.0) | 434 (9.2) | 457 (10.5) | 0.20 |
| Beta-blocker | 87,688 (24.7) | 261 (28.6) | 1409 (29.7) | 1406 (32.3) | 0.18 |
| Thiazide | 18,483 (5.2) | 59 (6.5) | 274 (5.8) | 235 (5.4) | 0.06 |
| Loop diuretics | 21,111 (5.9) | 92 (10.1) | 427 (9.0) | 518 (11.9) | 0.25 |
| Spironolactone | 3462 (1.0) | 16 (1.8) | 64 (1.4) | 66 (1.5) | 0.08 |
| Others | 7770 (2.2) | 31 (3.4) | 115 (2.4) | 147 (3.4) | 0.08 |
| Number of anti-hypertensive agents | |||||
| 0 | 103,446 (29.1) | 197 (21.6) | 1000 (21.1) | 776 (17.8) | 0.28 |
| 1–2 | 194,957 (54.8) | 495 (54.3) | 2706 (57.1) | 2478 (56.9) | 0.06 |
| 3–4 | 54,429 (15.3) | 205 (22.5) | 978 (20.6) | 1027 (23.6) | 0.20 |
| ≥5 | 2666 (0.75) | 15 (1.64) | 53 (1.12) | 73 (1.68) | 0.08 |
| Average numbers of antihypertensive agents | 1.33 ± 1.16 | 1.64 ± 1.24 | 1.59 ± 1.20 | 1.73 ± 1.22 | 0.34 |
| Antidiabetic agent | |||||
| Biguanide (Metformin) | 78,222 (22.0) | 142 (15.6) | 759 (16.0) | 622 (14.3) | 0.19 |
| TZD | 11,565 (3.3) | 31 (3.4) | 114 (2.4) | 110 (2.5) | 0.06 |
| Sulfonylurea | 80,173 (22.6) | 170 (18.6) | 826 (17.4) | 755 (17.3) | 0.13 |
| DPP4i | 9095 (2.6) | 13 (1.4) | 131 (2.8) | 82 (1.9) | 0.09 |
| Glinide | 11,945 (3.4) | 41 (4.5) | 162 (3.4) | 144 (3.3) | 0.07 |
| Alpha glucosidase inhibitors | 13,758 (3.9) | 39 (4.3) | 170 (3.6) | 160 (3.7) | 0.04 |
| Insulin | 16,766 (4.7) | 44 (4.8) | 188 (4.0) | 175 (4.0) | 0.04 |
| Average number of antidiabetic agents | 0.62 ± 1.02 | 0.53 ± 0.96 | 0.50 ± 0.93 | 0.47 ± 0.88 | 0.16 |
| Other medications | |||||
| Aspirin | 61,619 (17.3) | 237 (26.0) | 1012 (21.4) | 1176 (27.0) | 0.26 |
| Clopidogrel | 4424 (1.2) | 28 (3.1) | 101 (2.1) | 137 (3.1) | 0.17 |
| Cilostazol | 1808 (0.51) | 7 (0.77) | 45 (0.95) | 43 (0.99) | 0.07 |
| Statin | 28,865 (8.1) | 132 (14.5) | 591 (12.5) | 638 (14.7) | 0.24 |
| Fibrate | 19,410 (5.5) | 92 (10.1) | 365 (7.7) | 367 (8.4) | 0.20 |
| NSAIDs including Cox-2 | 78,075 (22.0) | 367 (40.2) | 1881 (39.7) | 2105 (48.3) | 0.63 |
| Steroid | 8541 (2.4) | 45 (4.9) | 207 (4.4) | 265 (6.1) | 0.24 |
| Gout medications | |||||
| Allopurinol | 3692 (1.0) | 190 (20.8) | 564 (11.9) | 1352 (31.1) | 2.40 |
| Benzbromarone | 6243 (1.8) | 343 (37.6) | 775 (16.4) | 1519 (34.9) | 2.33 |
| Sulfinpyrazone | 348 (0.10) | 15 (1.64) | 48 (1.01) | 111 (2.55) | 0.65 |
| Febuxostat | 8 (0.002) | 0 (0.000) | 5 (0.106) | 3 (0.069) | 0.16 |
| Follow-up year | 5.0 ± 3.6 | 5.2 ± 3.5 | 4.5 ± 3.5 | 5.1 ± 3.5 | 0.32 |
IPTW, inverse probability of treatment weighting; MASD, maximum absolute standardized difference; COPD, chronic obstruction pulmonary disease; CCI, Charlson comorbidity index; NIHSS, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale; ACEI, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors; ARB, angiotensin receptor blockers; CCB, calcium channel blocker; TZD, thiazolidinedione; DPP4i, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor; NASIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; Data are presented as frequency (percentage) or mean ± standard deviation.