Baseline characteristics of the cohort of 31 138 patients who added tiotropium to a long-acting β2-agonist (LABA) or vice versa (combination) and their propensity score and prior inhaled corticosteroid-matched 31 138 users of a LABA or tiotropium who did not add (monotherapy), used for analysis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) outcome, and for the subset of 18 861 combination users and their matched 18 861 monotherapy users selected from the subcohort of Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) database-linked data, for arrhythmia outcome
| Using full base cohort for AMI outcome | Using HES base subcohort for arrhythmia outcome | |||
| Combination | Monotherapy | Combination | Monotherapy | |
| Patients n | 31 138 | 31 138 | 18 861 | 18 861 |
| Age at cohort entry years | 71.9±8.5 | 72.2±8.6 | 72.2±8.6 | 72.6±8.7 |
| Female sex | 14 353 (46.1) | 14 741 (47.3) | 8465 (44.9) | 8641 (45.8) |
| Year of cohort entry | ||||
| Before 2007 | 7283 (23.4) | 7240 (23.3) | 4331 (23.0) | 4301 (22.8) |
| 2007–2009 | 11 067 (35.5) | 11 074 (35.6) | 6826 (36.2) | 6823 (36.2) |
| 2010–2013 | 12 788 (41.1) | 12 824 (41.2) | 7704 (40.8) | 7737 (41.0) |
| Time since monotherapy initiation years | 2.2±2.0 | 2.2±2.1 | 2.3±2.1 | 2.2±2.1 |
| Smoker | 28 879 (92.7) | 27 840 (89.4) | 17 458 (92.6) | 16 848 (89.3) |
| Obesity status | ||||
| Obese | 8041 (25.8) | 8407 (27.0) | 4848 (25.7) | 5031 (26.7) |
| Non-obese | 21 975 (70.6) | 21 694 (69.7) | 13 285 (70.4) | 13 191 (69.9) |
| Missing data | 1122 (3.6) | 1037 (3.3) | 728 (3.9) | 639 (3.4) |
| Alcohol abuse | 394 (1.3) | 412 (1.3) | 204(1.1) | 212 (1.1) |
| COPD exacerbation in 30 days prior to cohort entry | 3076 (9.9) | 3086 (9.9) | 1934 (10.3) | 1853 (9.8) |
| Comorbidity in year prior to cohort entry | ||||
| Myocardial infarction | 396 (1.3) | 411 (1.3) | 228 (1.2) | 220 (1.2) |
| Arrhythmia | 978 (3.1) | 1024 (3.3) | 621 (3.3) | 628 (3.3) |
| Atherosclerosis/PVD | 415 (1.3) | 431 (1.4) | 242 (1.3) | 264 (1.4) |
| Stroke | 213 (0.7) | 218 (0.7) | 125 (0.7) | 137 (0.7) |
| Heart failure | 970 (3.1) | 926 (3.0) | 617 (3.3) | 618 (3.3) |
| Hypertension | 2817 (9.0) | 2903 (9.3) | 1723 (9.1) | 1767 (9.4) |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 494 (1.6) | 511 (1.6) | 301 (1.6) | 306 (1.6) |
| Congenital cardiovascular abnormalities | S | 8 (0) | S | S |
| Diabetes | 3861 (12.4) | 4031 (12.9) | 2365 (12.5) | 2556 (13.6) |
| Pneumonia | 826 (2.7) | 712 (2.3) | 529 (2.8) | 430 (2.3) |
| Renal disease | 2025 (6.5) | 2069 (6.6) | 1195 (6.3) | 1231 (6.5) |
| Thyroid disease | 2849 (9.1) | 2975 (9.6) | 1732 (9.2) | 1751 (9.3) |
| Medications in year prior to cohort entry | ||||
| Cardiovascular drugs | ||||
| ACE inhibitors | 9232 (29.6) | 9220 (29.6) | 5618 (29.8) | 5575 (29.6) |
| Angiotensin receptor blockers | 3705 (11.9) | 3897 (12.5) | 2308 (12.2) | 2429 (12.9) |
| β-blockers | 3994 (12.8) | 4073 (13.1) | 2288 (12.1) | 2390 (12.7) |
| Thiazide diuretics | 5708 (18.3) | 5784 (18.6) | 3445 (18.3) | 3501 (18.6) |
| Loop diuretics | 8099 (26.0) | 7885 (25.3) | 4904 (26.0) | 4777 (25.3) |
| Antiarrhythmics | 1791 (5.8) | 1832 (5.9) | 1164 (6.2) | 1157 (6.1) |
| Digoxin (digitalis) | 1685 (5.4) | 1623 (5.2) | 1068 (5.7) | 993 (5.3) |
| Nitrates | 3086 (9.9) | 3061(9.8) | 1699 (9.0) | 1757 (9.3) |
| Non-aspirin antiplatelets | 2435 (7.8) | 2388 (7.7) | 1424 (7.5) | 1405 (7.4) |
| Statins | 13 387 (43.0) | 13 461 (43.2) | 7925 (42.0) | 8067 (42.8) |
| Respiratory drugs | ||||
| Short-acting β-agonists | 28 664 (92.1) | 28 100 (90.2) | 17 368 (92.1) | 16 926 (89.7) |
| Ipratropium bromide | 9871 (31.7) | 12 853 (41.3) | 6452 (34.2) | 8218 (43.6) |
| Inhaled corticosteroids | 26 847 (86.2) | 26 847 (86.2) | 16 353 (86.7) | 16 353 (86.7) |
| Oral corticosteroids | 15 178 (48.7) | 14 598 (46.9) | 9458 (50.1) | 8934 (47.4) |
| Methylxanthines | 1728 (5.5) | 1437 (4.6) | 1065 (5.6) | 894 (4.7) |
| Drugs prolonging QT interval | ||||
| Macrolides | 8556 (27.5) | 8380 (26.9) | 5005 (26.5) | 4856 (25.7) |
| Antidepressants | 6935 (22.3) | 6983 (22.4) | 4072 (21.6) | 4024 (21.3) |
| Antipsychotics | 416 (1.3) | 430 (1.4) | 228 (1.2) | 257 (1.4) |
| Others [28] | 29 803 (95.7) | 29 455 (94.6) | 18 046 (95.7) | 17 760 (94.2) |
| Other medications | ||||
| Insulin | 787 (2.5) | 878 (2.8) | 494 (2.6) | 526 (2.8) |
| Aspirin | 10 627 (34.1) | 10 730 (34.5) | 6239 (33.1) | 6348 (33.7) |
| NSAIDs | 5445 (17.5) | 5571 (17.9) | 3126 (16.6) | 3253 (17.2) |
| Acetaminophen | 15 487 (49.7) | 15 592 (50.1) | 8977 (47.6) | 8978 (47.6) |
| Opioids | 13 621 (43.7) | 13 684 (43.9) | 7849 (41.6) | 7891 (41.8) |
Data are presented as mean±sd or n (%). COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; PVD: peripheral vascular disease; ACE: angiotensin-converting enzyme; NSAID: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; S: small cells (count ≤5) were suppressed due to privacy restriction.