Baseline characteristics of statin users and non-users after propensity-score matching stratified by sex
| Statin users (women) (n=4482) | Statin non-users (women) (n=4499) | Statin users (men) (n=4149) | Statin non-users (men) (n=4132) | |
| General characteristics | ||||
| Age (years) | 62 (10) | 62 (12) | 59 (11) | 59 (13) |
| Ethnicity (n, %) | ||||
| Native Dutch | 3520 (78.5) | 3555 (79.0) | 3233 (77.9) | 3286 (79.5) |
| First generation immigrant | 685 (15.3) | 633 (14.1) | 612 (14.8) | 567 (13.7) |
| Second generation immigrant | 277 (6.2) | 311 (6.9) | 304 (7.3) | 179 (6.8) |
| Annual personal income (€) | €17 731 (10 191–31 052) | €18 912 (€10 514–€32 163) | €41 667 (€26 233–€65 118) | €41 515 (€25 110–€63 582) |
| Current smoker (n, %) | 1848 (41.2) | 1847 (41.1) | 1695 (40.9) | 1693 (41.0) |
| 10-year cardiovascular mortality risk (SCORE) | ||||
| 0%–4% | 2712 (60.5) | 2601 (57.8) | 2045 (49.3) | 1961 (47.5) |
| 5%–9% | 1085 (24.2) | 979 (21.8) | 1295 (31.2) | 1196 (28.9) |
| ≥10% | 684 (15.3) | 914 (20.3) | 809 (19.5) | 973 (23.5) |
| Complaints (n, %) | ||||
| No of complaints | ||||
| 0 | 1597 (35.6) | 1537 (34.2) | 1854 (44.7) | 1852 (44.8) |
| 1 | 2721 (60.7) | 2821 (62.7) | 2204 (53.1) | 2193 (53.1) |
| 2 | 156 (3.5) | 134 (3.0) | 79 (1.9) | 82 (2.0) |
| ≥3 | 8 (0.2) | 7 (0.2) | 12 (0.2) | 5 (0.1) |
| Chest pain | 1696 (37.8) | 1737 (38.6) | 1480 (35.7) | 1421 (34.4) |
| Dyspnoea | 457 (10.2) | 442 (9.8) | 321 (7.7) | 317 (7.7) |
| Fatigue | 148 (3.3) | 157 (3.5) | 129 (3.1) | 116 (2.8) |
| Heart murmurs | 41 (0.9) | 42 (0.9) | 36 (0.9) | 33 (0.8) |
| Palpitations | 685 (15.3) | 697 (15.5) | 403 (9.7) | 444 (10.7) |
| Collapse | 30 (0.7) | 35 (0.8) | 33 (0.8) | 41 (1.0) |
| Comorbidities (n, %) | ||||
| Hypertension | 1887 (42.1) | 1830 (40.7) | 1499 (36.1) | 1480 (35.8) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 428 (9.5) | 387 (8.6) | 415 (10.0) | 299 (7.2) |
| Dyslipidaemia | 1127 (25.1) | 1026 (22.8) | 951 (22.9) | 931 (22.5) |
| Cardiovascular diagnosis at baseline | 489 (10.9) | 487 (10.8) | 572 (13.8) | 452 (10.9) |
| Clinical characteristics | ||||
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 26.9 (5.0) | 26.9 (5.2) | 27.2 (3.9) | 27.1 (4.0) |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 146 (22) | 146 (23) | 147 (20) | 147 (21) |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 5.70 (1.29) | 5.73 (0.86) | 5.36 (1.27) | 5.50 (0.84) |
| Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mmol/L) | 3.40 (2.50–4.30) | 3.30 (2.90–3.90) | 3.20 (2.40–4.10) | 3.30 (2.90–3.80) |
| High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.60 (1.30–2.00) | 1.60 (1.30–2.00) | 1.20 (1.00–1.50) | 1.20 (1.00–1.50) |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 1.40 (1.00–2.00) | 1.40 (1.00–2.10) | 1.70 (1.10–2.40) | 1.70 (1.10–2.40) |
| Estimated glomerular filtration rate (mL/min/1.73 m2) | 76 (24) | 76 (26) | 89 (28) | 89 (29) |
| Medication prescriptions at baseline other than statins (n,%) | ||||
| History of cardiovascular medication use | 518 (11.6) | 505 (11.2) | 452 (10.9) | 467 (11.3) |
| Cardiovascular medication prescribed at baseline | 3017 (67.3) | 3081 (68.5) | 2781 (67.0) | 2726 (66.0) |
| No of cardiovascular medications | ||||
| 0 | 1149 (25.6) | 1117 (24.8) | 1107 (26.7) | 1123 (27.2) |
| 1–3 | 2801 (62.5) | 2909 (64.7) | 2515 (60.6) | 2548 (61.7) |
| 4–7 | 525 (11.7) | 467 (10.4) | 523 (12.6) | 457 (11.1) |
| 8–10 | 7 (0.2) | 6 (0.1) | 4 (0.1) | 4 (0.1) |
| Antiplatelet or anticoagulant medication | 1529 (34.1) | 1552 (34.5) | 1557 (37.5) | 1480 (35.8) |
| Other lipid-lowering medication | 89 (2.0) | 101 (2.2) | 98 (2.4) | 90 (2.2) |
| Diabetes mellitus medication | 352 (7.9) | 319 (7.1) | 376 (9.1) | 253 (6.1) |
| Nitrates | 465 (10.4) | 488 (10.8) | 394 (9.5) | 315 (7.6) |
| Antiarrhythmic medication | 47 (1.0) | 51 (1.1) | 61 (1.5) | 70 (1.7) |
| Digoxin | 31 (0.7) | 30 (0.7) | 31 (0.7) | 35 (0.8) |
| Statin prescriptions at baseline (n, %) | ||||
| Statin name | ||||
| Atorvastatin | 908 (20.3) | 951 (22.9) | ||
| Fluvastatin | 22 (0.5) | 20 (0.5) | ||
| Pravastatin | 266 (8.2) | 277 (6.7) | ||
| Rosuvastatin | 468 (10.4) | 421 (10.1) | ||
| Simvastatin | 2718 (60.6) | 2480 (59.8) | ||
| Statin intensity | ||||
| Lower than guideline recommended | 1592 (35.5) | 1213 (29.2) | ||
| Equal to guideline recommended | 1713 (38.2) | 1760 (42.4) | ||
| Higher than guideline recommended | 1177 (26.3) | 1176 (28.3) | ||
SCORE, Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation.