Table 1.
Description of the patient data for pharmacoepidemiologic analysis.
| Clinical characteristics | Sildenafil | Diltiazem | Losartan | Metformin | Glimepiride | Control |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||
| N | 116,412 | 251,360 | 664,265 | 723,082 | 159,597 | 460,356 |
| # of AD | 93 | 5,046 | 8,998 | 8,050 | 2,237 | 1,175 |
| Female (%) | 2.0 | 59.7 | 58.0 | 47.7 | 45.5 | 2.0 |
| Mean age (SD) | 71.0 (5.8) | 76.5 (8.3) | 74.2 (7.8) | 72.1 (6.8) | 73.7 (7.5) | 74.2 (7.2) |
| Geographics (%) | ||||||
| Northeast | 30.8 | 23.9 | 21.0 | 21.3 | 20.4 | 23.0 |
| North central | 18.9 | 29.0 | 27.4 | 27.5 | 30.8 | 31.0 |
| South | 29.9 | 31.3 | 33.7 | 34.2 | 37.8 | 29.8 |
| West | 19.4 | 15.0 | 16.9 | 15.9 | 10.0 | 15.1 |
| Not available | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Disease comorbidities (%) | ||||||
| T2D | 18.9 | 20.0 | 23.5 | 50.9 | 62.8 | 20.0 |
| HT | 42.6 | 46.9 | 51.2 | 38.0 | 46.3 | 46.0 |
| CAD | 16.4 | 20.6 | 16.8 | 12.7 | 18.8 | 17.3 |
We estimated the un-stratified Kaplan-Meier curves, conducted propensity score stratified (n strata = 10) two-sided log-rank test and Cox model. The AD frequency (1,175/460,356 [0.255%]) in control group was not cumulative AD incidence in the whole life for non-sildenafil users. In fact, these patients were diagnosed with AD during their follow up times (6 years), which had same length as the matched sildenafil exposure windows. AD: Alzheimer’s disease; T2D: Type 2 diabetes; HT: Hypertension; CAD: Coronary artery disease.