Baseline characteristics of study population*
| Characteristic | No. (%)† of total patients n = 19 858 | Before weighting | After weighting | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%)† of noninitiators n = 12 586 | No. (%)† of statin initiators n = 7272 | SMD‡ | Percentage† of noninitiators | Percentage† of statin initiators | SMD‡ | ||
| Age, yr, median (IQR) | 62.2 (54.5–69.4) | 60.7 (53.5–67.4) | 65.0 (57.1–72.7) | 0.40 | 62.7 (55.3–69.9) | 62.8 (54.7–70.5) | < 0.001 |
| Male | 11 012.0 (55) | 7140.0 (56) | 3872.0 (53) | 0.07 | 53.0 | 53.0 | < 0.001 |
| BMI, median (IQR) | 23.6 (21.5–26.0) | 23.4 (21.2–25.8) | 24.1 (22.0–26.4) | 0.22 | 23.8 (21.6–26.2) | 23.8 (21.7–26.1) | < 0.001 |
| Blood pressure, median (IQR), mm Hg | |||||||
| SBP | 131 (120–144) | 129 (118–141) | 135 (123–149) | 0.03 | 131 (120–145) | 132 (120–145) | < 0.001 |
| DBP | 79 (71–86) | 78 (70–85) | 80 (72–87) | 0.02 | 79 (71–86) | 80 (71–87) | < 0.001 |
| Baseline eGFR, median (IQR), mL/min/1.73 m2 § | 94.2 (83.7–103.1) | 96.6 (86.8–105.1) | 89.6 (79.2–98.8) | 0.46 | 93.5 (82.8–101.9) | 93.3 (82.9–101.9) | < 0.001 |
| Dyslipidemia | |||||||
| LDL-C ≥ 3.4 mmol/L | 4086.0 (20.6) | 1753.0 (13.9) | 2333.0 (32.1) | 0.44 | 24.9 | 24.9 | < 0.001 |
| TC ≥ 5.1 mmol/L | 5583.0 (28.1) | 2747.0 (21.8) | 2836.0 (39.0) | 0.38 | 33.4 | 33.4 | < 0.001 |
| TG ≥ 1.7 mmol/L | 4324.0 (21.8) | 2378.0 (18.9) | 1946.0 (26.8) | 0.19 | 24.7 | 24.7 | < 0.001 |
| Albumin, g/L, median (IQR) | 40.5 (37.6–43.5) | 40.2 (37.1–43.3) | 40.9 (38.2–43.7) | 0.21 | 40.8 (38.0–43.8) | 40.7 (38.0–43.6) | < 0.001 |
| HbA1c, %, median (IQR) | 7.0 (6.2–8.3) | 6.9 (6.2–8.1) | 7.0 (6.3–8.5) | 0.15 | 7.0 (6.3–8.5) | 7.0 (6.2–8.4) | < 0.001 |
| Glucose-lowering drugs | |||||||
| Insulin | 9159.0 (46.1) | 6410.0 (50.9) | 2749.0 (37.8) | 0.27 | 43.9 | 43.9 | < 0.001 |
| Metformin | 6851.0 (34.5) | 3604.0 (28.6) | 3247.0 (44.7) | 0.34 | 39.2 | 39.2 | < 0.001 |
| SGLT2 inhibitors | 82.0 (0.4) | 24.0 (0.2) | 58.0 (0.8) | 0.09 | 0.5 | 0.5 | < 0.001 |
| DPP4 inhibitors | 1345.0 (6.8) | 607.0 (4.8) | 738.0 (10.1) | 0.20 | 8.6 | 8.6 | < 0.001 |
| Sulfonylureas | 4358.0 (21.9) | 2476.0 (19.7) | 1882.0 (25.9) | 0.15 | 24.0 | 24.0 | < 0.001 |
| Antihypertensive drugs | |||||||
| RASi | 4872.0 (24.5) | 1827.0 (14.5) | 3045.0 (41.9) | 0.64 | 27.4 | 27.4 | < 0.001 |
| β-blockers | 3759.0 (18.9) | 1522.0 (12.1) | 2237.0 (30.8) | 0.47 | 19.2 | 19.2 | < 0.001 |
| CCB | 5939.0 (29.9) | 2908.0 (23.1) | 3031.0 (41.7) | 0.41 | 32.0 | 32.0 | < 0.001 |
| Diuretic | 3186.0 (16.0) | 2370.0 (18.8) | 816.0 (11.2) | 0.21 | 12.7 | 12.7 | < 0.001 |
| Comorbidities | |||||||
| Diabetic complications** | 4297.0 (21.6) | 2297.0 (18.3) | 2000.0 (27.5) | 0.22 | 24.9 | 24.9 | < 0.001 |
| Myocardial infarction | 218.0 (1.1) | 24.0 (0.2) | 194.0 (2.7) | 0.21 | 0.6 | 0.6 | < 0.001 |
| Arrhythmia | 1899.0 (9.6) | 770.0 (6.1) | 1129.0 (15.5) | 0.31 | 10.1 | 10.1 | < 0.001 |
| Hypertension | 9049.0 (45.6) | 4550.0 (36.2) | 4499.0 (61.9) | 0.53 | 48.6 | 48.6 | < 0.001 |
| Hyperuricemia | 2154.0 (10.8) | 948.0 (7.5) | 1206.0 (16.6) | 0.28 | 12.8 | 12.8 | < 0.001 |
| Cerebral bleeding | 236.0 (1.2) | 103.0 (0.8) | 133.0 (1.8) | 0.09 | 1.6 | 1.6 | < 0.001 |
| Cerebral infraction | 2492.0 (12.5) | 548.0 (4.4) | 1944.0 (26.7) | 0.65 | 12.3 | 12.3 | < 0.001 |
| CCI, median (IQR)¶ | 6 (5–7) | 6 (5–7) | 6 (4–7) | 0.23 | 6 (4–7) | 5 (4–7) | < 0.001 |
Note: BMI = body mass index, CCB = calcium channel blocker, CCI = Charlson Comorbidity Index, DBP = diastolic blood pressure, DPP4 = dipeptidyl peptidase-4, eGFR = estimated glomerular filtration rate, HbA1c = glycosylated hemoglobin, IQR = interquartile range, LDL-C = low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, RASi = renin–angiotensin system inhibitor, SBP = systolic blood pressure, SGLT2 = sodium–glucose co-transporter 2, SMD = standardized mean difference, TC = total cholesterol, TG = triglyceride.
↵* We defined the time from within 3 months before the index date as the baseline period. We assigned the date of the first statin prescription as the index date for statin initiators. For noninitiators, we assigned the index date as a randomly selected date of any admission.
↵† Unless stated otherwise.
↵‡ Covariates with SMD > 0.1 were regarded as unbalanced between the groups. (43)
↵§ We calculated eGFR using serum creatinine and the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation. (39)
↵¶ We calculated the CCI to quantify the overall comorbidity status. (40)
↵** Diabetic complications including diabetic retinopathy, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, diabetic ketosis, diabetic foot and other diabetic angiopathies.