Table 1

Descriptive statistics of the cohort at baseline

	All patients (N=75 884)		Adherent (CMA ≥0.80) at the end of observation (N=24 650)		Non-adherent (CMA <0.80) at the end of observation (N=51 234)
	Frequency	%	Frequency	%	Frequency	%
Age (years)
0–50	6493	8.6	1759	7.14	4734	9.24
50–54	7101	9.4	2355	9.55	4746	9.26
55–59	11 746	15.5	4188	16.99	7558	14.75
60–64	8768	11.6	3157	12.81	5611	10.95
65–69	9755	12.9	3532	14.33	6223	12.15
70–74	11 781	15.5	4029	16.34	7752	15.13
75–79	10 863	14.3	3310	13.43	7553	14.74
80+	9378	12.4	2320	9.41	7057	13.77
Number of hospitalisations in year prior to index
0	69 450	91.52	22 937	93.05	46 513	90.79
1	4534	5.97	1272	5.16	3262	6.37
2	1222	1.61	306	1.24	916	1.79
3	386	0.51	93	0.38	293	0.57
4	172	0.23	32	0.13	140	0.27
5	60	0.08	9	0.04	51	0.10
≥6	60	0.08	1	0.00	59	0.11
Body mass index (kg/m²)
Underweight (<18.5)	1766	2.33	473	1.92	1293	2.52
Normal weight (18.5–24.9)	12 668	16.69	3288	13.34	9380	18.31
Overweight (25–29.9)	28 544	37.62	9329	37.85	19 215	37.50
Obese (30–34.9)	20 276	26.72	7133	28.94	13 143	25.65
Extremely obese (35+)	12 630	16.64	4427	17.96	8203	16.01
Sex
Female	2527	3.3	770	3.12	1757	3.43
Male	73 357	96.67	23 880	96.88	49 477	96.57
SES index^*
Highest quartile	18 033	23.76	5857	23.76	12 176	23.77
2nd quartile	16 117	21.24	5411	21.95	10 706	20.90
3rd quartile	19 162	25.25	6387	25.91	12 775	24.93
Lowest quartile	22 572	29.75	6995	28.38	15 577	30.40
Baseline blood pressure
Normal (SBP <120 and DBP <80)	6235	8.22	1897	7.70	4338	8.47
Prehypertension (120≤SBP<140 or 80≤DBP<90)	39 321	51.82	13 046	52.92	26 275	51.28
Stage I hypertension (140≤SBP<160 or 90≤DBP<100)	22 718	29.94	7339	29.77	15 379	30.02
Stage II hypertension (SBP ≥160 or DBP ≥100)	7610	10.03	2368	9.61	5242	10.23
COPD
No COPD	63 505	83.69	21 148	85.79	42 357	82.67
Treated COPD	7688	10.13	2122	8.61	5566	10.86
Untreated COPD	4691	6.18	1380	5.60	3311	6.46
Diabetes
No diabetes	48 947	64.50	15 487	62.83	33 460	65.31
Controlled diabetes (A1c ≤7)
Treated with oral medications and no complications^†	8293	10.93	2883	11.70	5410	10.56
Treated with oral medications and with complications^†	828	1.09	280	1.14	548	1.07
Treated with insulin and no complications^†	2139	2.82	679	2.75	1460	2.85
Treated with insulin and with complications^†	766	1.01	222	0.90	544	1.06
Uncontrolled diabetes (A1c >7)
Treated with oral medications and no complications^†	5042	6.64	1804	7.32	3238	6.32
Treated with oral medications and with complications^†	770	1.01	291	1.18	479	0.93
Treated with insulin and no complications^†	2818	3.71	908	3.68	1910	3.73
Treated with insulin and with complications^†	1409	1.86	455	1.85	954	1.86
Untreated and no complications^†	4590	6.05	1568	6.36	3022	5.90
Ischaemic heart disease
No ischaemic heart disease^‡
No risk factors^§ and no antihyperlipidaemia medications	19 869	26.18	5833	23.66	14 036	27.40
No risk factors^§ and with antihyperlipidaemia medications	21 240	27.99	7606	30.86	13 634	26.61
Risk factors^§ present and no hyperlipidaemia medications	6420	8.46	2101	8.52	4319	8.43
Ischaemic heart disease^‡
Treated with hyperlipidaemia medications	20 766	27.37	7098	28.80	13 668	26.68
Untreated with hyperlipidaemia medications	7589	10.00	2012	8.16	5577	10.89
Cancer
No cancer diagnosis or treatment	61 056	80.46	19 894	80.71	41 162	80.34
Cancer diagnosis or treatment	14 828	19.54	4756	19.29	10 072	19.66
Psychiatric disorders
No psychiatric disorders and no psychiatric treatment	37 151	48.96	12 431	50.43	24 720	48.25
Treated psychiatric disorders	4029	5.31	1188	4.82	2841	5.55
Untreated psychiatric disorders	34 704	45.73	11 031	44.75	23 673	46.21
Disability
No disability diagnosis	54 881	72.32	17 661	71.65	37 220	72.65
Disability diagnosis	21 003	27.68	6989	28.35	14 014	27.35
Sleep apnoea
No sleep apnoea diagnosis	72 192	95.13	23 361	94.77	48 831	95.31
Sleep apnoea diagnosis	3692	4.87	1289	5.23	2403	4.69
Thyroid disorder
No thyroid disorder or treatment	69 781	91.96	22 742	92.26	47 039	91.81
Treated thyroid disorder	5139	6.77	1605	6.51	3534	6.90
Untreated thyroid disorder	964	1.27	303	1.23	661	1.29

↵* SES, socioeconomic status categories were defined by linking on zip code with United States 2000 census data and were constructed from variables for median annual household income, percentage below poverty level, percentage of households receiving Social Security income, percentage of households on public assistance, median home value, percentage of owner-occupied homes, median home construction year, percentage room occupancy of ≤1 person, population density, percentage managerial occupations, percentage unemployed, percentage with some high school or less and percentage of single parent households.
↵† Diabetes complications included ketoacidosis, coma, renal manifestations, ophthalmic manifestations, neurological manifestations and peripheral circulatory disorders.
↵‡ Ischaemic heart disease includes diagnoses for coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, angina, peripheral vascular disease and cardiovascular disease.
↵§ Ischaemic heart disease risk factors included diagnoses of hyperlipidaemia or dyslipidaemia, or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol >160.
A1c, haemoglobin A1c; CMA, medication adherence ratio (cumulative measure of medication availability); COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; SBP, systolic blood pressure.