Figure 1. Study Design.

This is a new-user study design, with the exposure of interest being antihypertensive medication use after the first hypertension diagnosis (index date). Patients were included in the study if they had a new diagnosis of hypertension between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2014. To ensure patients had a new diagnosis of hypertension, a 365-day baseline washout period prior to the index date was applied. Use of antihypertensive medication was ascertained starting on the index date. The day of the first fill of an antihypertensive medication after the index date was defined as the treatment initiation date. Outcome events were measured starting 360 days after the treatment initiation date because Alzheimer disease and related dementia and vascular dementia develop over time; therefore, a minimum exposure was assumed to be needed before collecting outcome events. Outcome events were assessed from the end of the blanking period to death, disenrollment, or end of the study period (December 31, 2018).