Baseline Characteristics
| Characteristic | HCTZ | Amlodipine | Lisinopril | Valsartan | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of subjects | 18,713 | 11,520 | 21,138 | 9,314 | 60,685 |
| (% of sample) | (30.8) | (19.0) | (34.8) | (15.4) | (100.0) |
| Age, mean± SD | 56.6 ± 12.9* | 59.0 ± 13.7* | 57.2 ± 12.6* | 58.4 ± 12.4* | 57.7 ± 12.9 |
| Male, n (%) | 5,865 (31.3)* | 5,856 (50.8)* | 12,496 (59.1)* | 5,024 (53.9)* | 29,241 (48.2) |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index, n (%) | |||||
| Score = 0 | 17,611 (94.1) | 9,716 (84.3) | 17,780 (84.1) | 8,549 (91.8) | 53,656 (88.4) |
| Score = 1 | 564 (3.0) | 912 (7.9) | 1,862 (8.8) | 417 (4.5) | 3,755 (6.2) |
| Score = 2 | 364 (2.0) | 500 (4.3) | 921 (4.4) | 229 (2.5) | 2,014 (3.3) |
| Score = 3 | 95 (0.5) | 172 (1.5) | 331 (1.6) | 54 (0.6) | 652 (1.1) |
| Overall, mean± SD | 0.11 ± 0.53* | 0.31 ± 0.92* | 0.28 ± 0.80* | 0.15 ± 0.63* | 0.21 ± 0.73 |
| Concomitant treatment, n (%) | |||||
| Antidyslipidemics | 3,549 (30.2)* | 2,933 (25.5)* | 6,792 (32.1)* | 2,691 (28.9)* | 15,965 (26.3) |
| Antiplatelet agents | 456 (2.4)* | 953 (8.3)* | 1,553 (7.4)* | 365 (3.9)* | 3,327 (5.5%) |
| Beta-blockers | 5,648 (30.2)* | 2,741 (23.8)* | 4,876 (23.1)* | 1,460 (15.7)* | 14,725 (24.3) |
| Digoxin | 236 (1.3)* | 276 (2.4)* | 818 (3.9)* | 185 (2.0)* | 1,515 (2.5) |
| Nitroglycerin | 58 (0.3)* | 165 (1.4)* | 140 (0.7)* | 41 (0.4)* | 404 (0.7) |
| Warfarin | 470 (2.5)* | 440 (3.8)* | 1,074 (5.1)* | 319 (3.4)* | 2,303 (3.8) |
| Year of initial prescription, n* | |||||
| 2001 | 5,754 | 3,791 | 6,578 | 1,042 | 17,165 |
| 2002 | 12,959 | 7,729 | 14,560 | 8,272 | 43.520 |
* P ≤ .001 between groups (one-way analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc for multiple comparisons or χ2, as appropriate). HCTZ, hydrochlorothiazide.