Fig. 1

Overview of each treatment group and the study period. Short-term treatment period: From the day of substitution to March 31, 2009. Long-term treatment period: From July 1 to December 31, 2011. Long-term continued use group: Patients who continued the treatment on and after December 31, 2011. Treatment discontinuation group (long-term): Patients who discontinued the treatment between July 1 and December 31, 2011. Treatment discontinuation group (short-term): Patients who discontinued the treatment on or before July 1, 2011. Drug-change group: Patients for whom the generic drug was replaced by another drug after substitution. Dose-adjustment group: Patients for whom the dose of the generic drug was adjusted after substitution. Concomitant drug-change group: Patients whose concomitant drugs were switched after substitution. Long-term use group: A group consisting of the long-term continued use group and the treatment discontinuation group (long-term). Discontinuation/change group: A group consisting of the treatment discontinuation (short-term), drug-change, dose-adjustment, and concomitant drug-change group