Baseline characteristics of patients. Values are numbers (%) unless indicated otherwise.
| Drug-naive patients | Standardised difference | ||
| Angiotensin II receptor blockers (n=819) | Calcium channel blockers (n=1015) | ||
| Median age (years, IQR) | 70.0 (61–78) | 71.0 (60–79) | 0.085 |
| Male | 518 (63.2) | 570 (56.2) | –0.145 |
| Comorbidity | |||
| Diabetes mellitus | 257 (52.2) | 884 (46.0) | –0.110 |
| Heart failure | 172 (21.0) | 185 (18.2) | –0.070 |
| Cancer | 203 (24.8) | 262 (25.8) | 0.024 |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 133 (16.2) | 163 (16.1) | –0.005 |
| Myocardial infarction | 42 (5.1) | 73 (7.2) | 0.086 |
| Renal diseases | 76 (9.3) | 75 (7.4) | –0.068 |
| Liver disease | 49 (6.0) | 45 (4.4) | –0.070 |
| Hyperkalaemia | 20 (2.4) | 22 (2.2) | –0.018 |
| Co-medication | |||
| Lipid-lowering drugs | 323 (39.4) | 399 (39.3) | –0.003 |
| Oral anticoagulants | 125 (15.3) | 177 (17.4) | 0.059 |
| Anti-gout drugs | 118 (14.4) | 126 (12.4) | –0.059 |
| Aspirin | 338 (41.3) | 476 (46.9) | 0.114 |
| Antidiabetic medications | 218 (26.6) | 217 (21.4) | –0.123 |
| Diuretics | 118 (14.4) | 347 (34.2) | 0.474 |
| K-sparing diuretics | 18 (2.2) | 21 (2.1) | –0.009 |
| Laboratory tests | |||
| Serum creatinine | 705 (86.1) | 825 (81.3) | –0.115 |
| Serum potassium | 692 (84.4) | 813 (80.1) | –0.113 |
| Uric acid | 633 (77.3) | 735 (72.4) | –0.018 |
Lipid-lowering drugs include statins and fibrates. Anti-gout drugs include antihyperuricaemic drugs.
IQR, interquartile range.