Table 1.
Pancreatic cancer patient characteristics (N = 8,158)
| Characteristic | No. | % |
|---|---|---|
| Demographics | ||
| Age at PC diagnosis, years | ||
| Median [1st, 3rd quartiles] | 74.4 [66.3, 81.5] | |
| Sex (female) | 4,172 | 51.1 |
| Geography | ||
| Hill | 2,290 | 28.1 |
| Mountain | 444 | 5.4 |
| Plain | 5,424 | 66.5 |
| Year of PC diagnosis | ||
| 2003-2005 | 2,455 | 30.1 |
| 2006-2008 | 2,730 | 33.5 |
| 2009-2011 | 2,973 | 36.4 |
| Pancreatic Cancer Related Variables | ||
| Metastatic | 2,955 | 36.2 |
| Pancreas resection | 1,613 | 19.8 |
| Chemotherapy | 3,290 | 40.3 |
| Radiotherapy | 855 | 10.5 |
| Comorbidities at PC diagnosis | ||
| Elixhauser comorbidities count 22 | ||
| Median [1st, 3rd quartiles, max] | 0 [0, 1, 7] | |
| At Least 1 Comorbidity | 3,243 | 39.8 |
| Most Prevalent Elixhauser Comorbidities | ||
| Diabetes Mellitus | 1,576 | 19.3 |
| Chronic Pulmonary Disease | 499 | 6.1 |
| Congestive Heart Failure | 316 | 3.9 |
| Liver Disease | 262 | 3.2 |
| Deficiency Anemias | 259 | 3.2 |
| Peripheral Vascular Disease | 233 | 2.9 |
| Valvular Disease | 188 | 2.3 |
| Neurological Disorders | 181 | 2.2 |
| Hypothyroidism | 164 | 2.0 |
| Pulmonary Circulation Disease | 147 | 1.8 |
| Depression | 129 | 1.6 |
| Chronic Blood Loss | 114 | 1.4 |
| Functional Status at PC diagnosis | ||
| Home health care or O2 prescription in year prior to PC diagnosis | 743 | 9.1 |
| Discharged to nursing home | 576 | 7.1 |
| PC patients with Drug Rx exposures in year prior to PC diagnosis | ||
| ACE inhibitors | 2,571 | 31.5 |
| ARBs | 1,467 | 18.0 |
| Alpha blockers | 384 | 4.7 |
| Beta blockers | 1,695 | 20.8 |
| Calcium channel blockers | 1,740 | 21.3 |
| Diuretics | 1,676 | 20.5 |
| Aspirin | 2,122 | 26.0 |
| NSAIDs | 209 | 2.6 |
| Statins | 1,417 | 17.4 |
| Metformin | 992 | 12.2 |
| Other diabetes medications | 1,110 | 13.6 |
| Non-users of ACEs and ARBs | 4,377 | 53.7 |
| Other Antihypertensive Rx | 1,440 | 17.7 |
| No Other Antihypertensive Rx | 2,937 | 36.0 |
| None of the above medications | 2,318 | 28.4 |
| Time from PC diagnosis to end of follow-up, months | ||
| Median [1st, 3rd quartiles] | 6.2 [2.4, 16.0] | |
| All-cause mortality | 7,027 | 86.1 |
Abbreviations: angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE); angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB); hypertension prescriptions (HTN Rx); pancreatic cancer (PC); prescription (Rx)