Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the study population

Gender

  Male

78 (57.8)

84 (57.1)

0.914

  Female

57 (42.2)

63 (42.9)

Age

53 (27 ~ 73)

52 (25 ~ 72)

0.383

Prescribing medical establishment

  Clinic

83 (61.5)

111 (75.5)

<0.05

  Hospital

52 (38.5)

36 (24.5)

Type of prescriber

  General practitioner

51 (37.8)

59 (40.1)

  Cardiologist

5 (3.7)

3 (2.0)

0.841

  Others

79 (58.5)

85 (5708)

Comorbidities

  Depression

5 (3.7)

9 (6.1)

0.351

  Cardiac disease

17 (12.6)

23 (15.6)

0.463

  Cerebrovascular disease

18 (13.3)

15 (10.2)

0.415

  Hypertension

71 (52.6)

55 (37.4)

<0.05

  Diabetes mellitus

63 (46.7)

55 (37.4)

0.116

  Cancer

21 (15.6)

22 (15.0)

0.891

  Peripheral vascular disease

10 (7.4)

10 (6.8)

0.844

  Arrhythmia

0

8 (5.4)

<0.01

  Renal dysfunction

1 (0.7)

1 (0.7)

0.729

  Dementia

0

1 (0.7)

0.521

Charlson comorbidity index

1.0 (0 ~ 12)

1.0 (0 ~ 13)

0.698

Total number of drugs prescribed

3 (1~25)

2 (1~26)

0.870

Other mediation for cardiovascular disease

  inotropic agent

1 (0.7)

2 (1.4)

0.532

  Antiarrhythmic agent

1 (0.7)

1 (0.7)

0.729

  Diuretics

6 (4.4)

6 (4.1)

0.880

  β-Blocker

6 (4.4)

7 (4.8)

0.899

  Calcium channel blocker

30 (22.2)

11 (7.5)

< 0.01

  ACE inhibitor

1 (0.7)

1 (0.7)

0.729

  Angiotensin II receptor antagonist

32 (23.7)

25 (17.0)

0.162

  Direct Renin Inhibitor

0.0

1 (0.7)

0.521

  Platelet aggregation inhibitor

9 (6.7)

16 (10.9)

0.213

Daily dosage of atorvastatin

  2.5 mg

1 (0.7)

0

  5 mg

66 (48.9)

61 (41.5)

  10 mg

68 (50.4)

82 (55.8)

0.224

  15 mg

0

2 (1.4)

  20 mg

0

1 (0.7)

  30 mg

0

1 (0.7)

Duration of use of atorvastatin prior to index date ^b

126 (10~332)

98 (14~229)

< 0.05