Perreault and al.-- 2

Table e-1: Baseline characteristics with respect to the adherence level in the nested case-control study.

Low Adherence
<80% / High Adherence
/ Difference between
Low and High Adherence Groups (95% CI)
Number of patients / 6859 / 34,537
Mean age (Continuous) * / 76.0 ±6.0" / 75.5 ± 5.7
Male sex (%) / 49.9 / 51.7 / -1.84 (-3.13 - -0.54)
Baseline comorbidities
Diabetes Mellitus (%) ** / 24.6 / 21.9 / 2.71 (1.64 - 3.79)
Dyslipidemia (%) ** / 41.8 / 48.6 / -6.82 (-8.11 - -5.53)
Coronary artery disease (%)**† / 34.3 / 32.7 / 1.57 (0.35 - 2.79)
Myocardial infarction (%)**† / 5.1 / 3.8 / 1.28 (0.77 - 1.79)
Atrial fibrillation and flutter (%)**† / 14.4 / 11.9 / 2.54 (1.69 - 3.39)
Chronic heart failure (%)**† / 15.2 / 11.9 / 3.33 (2.45 - 4.16)
Peripheral vascular disease (%)**† / 11.4 / 13.1 / -1.71 (-2.58 - -0.85)
Other prescriptions after hospital discharge
Warfarin (%) / 10.4 / 9.1 / 1.33 (0.58 - 2.09)
Amiodarone (%) / 1.7 / 1.5 / 0.15 (-0.17 - 0.48)
Aspirin plus dipyridamole (%) / 2.0 / 1.6 / 0.32 (-0.01 - 0.67)
Ticlopidine or clopidrogrel (%) / 11.2 / 13.5 / -2.22 (-3.10 - -1.35)
Aspirin (%) / 46.0 / 48.6 / -2.60 (-3.89 - -1.30)
Proton pump inhibitors (%) / 55.6 / 53.9 / 1.67 (0.38 - 2.96)
Antiresorptive agents for osteoporosis / 11.0 / 11.9 / -0.01 (-0.02 - -0.001)
Anxiolytic and benzodiazepine agents (%) / 34.7 / 32.9 / 1.82 (0.60 - 3.04)

": mean +/- SD; *: At treatment initiation; **: Pharmacologic treatment in the year preceding the cohort entry; † : ICD-9 or ICD-10 in the 5-year period prior to cohort entry.

Perreault and al.-- 2

Table e-2 : Characteristics of stroke patients with vascular events and matched controls

Cases / Controls
No. of subjects / 2660 / 38,746
Age (yr) (continuous) * / 75.7 ± 5.8" / 75.6 ± 5.8
Antihypertensive agents adherence**
< 20 % / 3.1% / 2.7%
≥ 20% - 40% / 5.4% / 4.6%
≥ 40% - 60% / 5.8% / 3.7%
≥ 60% - 80% / 7.1% / 5.3%
≥ 80 % / 78.8% / 83.8%
Male / 58.1% / 51.0%
Monotherapy with antihypertensive agent† / 50.1% / 50.2%
More than one antihypertensive agent† / 46.7% / 46.4%
Diabetes Mellitus
Diagnosis without treatment / 4.5% / 4.5%
Newly treated for diabetes / 4.7% / 4.8%
Antidiabetic agents adherence < 80 % ††§ / 7.7% / 5.2%
Antidiabetic agents adherence ≥ 80 % ††§ / 13.2% / 11.1%
Dyslipidemia (%)
Diagnosis without treatment / 0.9% / 1.0%
Newly treated for dyslipidemia / 18.7% / 20.3%
Hypolipidemic agents adherence < 80 % ††§ / 9.9% / 8.2%
Hypolipidemic agents adherence ≥ 80 % ††§ / 25.4% / 27.5%
Comorbidities
Coronary artery disease# / 58.2% / 42.0%
Prior myocardial infarction$ / 7.3% / 3.8%
Atrial fibrillation or flutter# / 18.2% / 15.9%
Chronic heart failure# / 27.3% / 18.3%
Peripheral vascular disease# / 27.5% / 19.4%
Other prescriptions after hospital discharge
Warfarin / 9.6% / 9.3%
Amiodarone / 2.2% / 1.5%
Aspirin plus dipyridamole / 1.4% / 1.7%
Ticlopidine or clopidrogrel / 14.3% / 13.0%
Aspirin / 49.9% / 48.1%
Proton pump inhibitors / 59.5% / 45.9%
Antiresorptive agents for osteoporosis / 14.3% / 16.7%
Anxiolytic and benzodiazepine agents / 59.9% / 51.2%

": mean +/- SD; *: At the treatment initiation; **: Proportion of days covered (%); †: In the year prior to the index date; ††: Pharmacologic treatment: use of antidiabetic drugs or use of lipid lowering drugs during follow up; § : Proportion of days covered (%) calculated in the follow-up for patients treated with drug markers before the cohort entry date; #: ICD-9 or ICD-10 in the 5-year before the cohort entry and during follow-up or being users of drug markers in the year preceding the cohort entry or during follow-up; $: ICD-9 or ICD-10 in the 5-year before the cohort entry.

Table e-3: Profile of adherence level among stroke patients with vascular events and matched controls

Cases / Controls
No. of subjects / 2660 / 38,746
Antihypertensive agents adherence** / 100% / 100%
< 20 % / 3.1% / 2.7%
≥ 20% - < 40% / 5.4% / 4.6%
≥ 40% - < 60% / 5.8% / 3.7%
≥ 60% - < 80% / 7.1% / 5.3%
≥ 80 % / 78.8% / 83.8%
No. of subjects with dyslipidemia / 1199 (45.3%) / 18,105 (46.9%)
Dyslipidemia agents adherence**
< 20 % / 5.6% / 4.5%
≥ 20% - < 40% / 1.4% / 1.1%
≥ 40% - < 60% / 2.0% / 1.4%
≥ 60% - < 80% / 2.4% / 2.7%
≥ 80 % / 33.9% / 37.1%
No. of subjects with antiplatelet agents / 621 (23.5%) / 8287 (21.9%)
Antiplatelets agents adherence**
< 20 % / 4.9% / 5.0%
≥ 20% - < 40% / 0.8% / 0.7%
≥ 40% - < 60% / 1.1% / 0.6%
≥ 60% - < 80% / 1.3% / 0.8%
≥ 80 % / 15.4% / 14.3%

Perreault and al.-- 2