Baseline characteristics by combotherapy group (full cohort)
| Characteristic | Sulfonylurea | ‘Other’ | SMD |
| (n=28 077) | (n=4499) | ||
| Demographics | |||
| Age (years) | 56.4±14.1 | 56.3±12.6 | 0.007 |
| Sex (% female) | 12 240 (43.6%) | 2010 (44.7%) | 0.022 |
| Geographic/Socioeconomic status | |||
| Rural/Income quintile 1 | 3576 (12.7%) | 275 (6.1%) | 0.228 |
| Rural/Income quintile 2 | 2616 (9.3%) | 279 (6.2%) | 0.117 |
| Rural/Income quintile 3 | 2205 (7.9%) | 287 (6.4%) | 0.057 |
| Rural/Income quintile 4 | 2081 (7.4%) | 313 (7.0%) | 0.017 |
| Rural/Income quintile 5 | 1684 (6.0%) | 328 (7.3%) | 0.052 |
| Urban/Income quintile 1 | 4175 (14.9%) | 508 (11.3%) | 0.106 |
| Urban/Income quintile 2 | 3520 (12.5%) | 625 (13.9%) | 0.04 |
| Urban/Income quintile 3 | 3127 (11.1%) | 611 (13.6%) | 0.074 |
| Urban/Income quintile 4 | 2752 (9.8%) | 643 (14.3%) | 0.138 |
| Urban/Income quintile 5 | 2020 (7.2%) | 607 (13.5%) | 0.208 |
| Unknown | 321 (1.1%) | 23 (0.5%) | 0.07 |
| Baseline comorbidities | |||
| Alcohol abuse | 1151 (4.1%) | 75 (1.7%) | 0.146 |
| Amputation | 107 (0.4%) | 9 (0.2%) | 0.034 |
| Asthma | 3900 (13.9%) | 695 (15.4%) | 0.044 |
| CKD | 793 (2.8%) | 100 (2.2%) | 0.038 |
| COPD | 2858 (10.2%) | 382 (8.5%) | 0.058 |
| Cardiovascular disease | 7332 (26.1%) | 1066 (23.7%) | 0.056 |
| Dementia | 916 (3.3%) | 92 (2.0%) | 0.076 |
| Hypertension | 17 943 (63.9%) | 3006 (66.8%) | 0.061 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 9668 (34.4%) | 1769 (39.3%) | 0.101 |
| Liver disease | 1617 (5.8%) | 284 (6.3%) | 0.023 |
| Malignancy | 2858 (10.2%) | 453 (10.1%) | 0.004 |
| Microvascular disease | 6178 (22.0%) | 997 (22.2%) | 0.004 |
| Obesity | 1878 (6.7%) | 364 (8.1%) | 0.054 |
| Baseline medication use | |||
| ACE inhibitors | 11 491 (40.9%) | 1753 (39.0%) | 0.04 |
| Anticoagulants | 1227 (4.4%) | 173 (3.8%) | 0.026 |
| Antiplatelets | 5559 (19.8%) | 661 (14.7%) | 0.135 |
| ARBs | 5461 (19.5%) | 1085 (24.1%) | 0.113 |
| Beta-blockers | 5882 (20.9%) | 903 (20.1%) | 0.022 |
| CCBs | 5388 (19.2%) | 881 (19.6%) | 0.01 |
| Digoxin | 627 (2.2%) | 77 (1.7%) | 0.038 |
| Direct vasodilators | 52 (0.2%) | 9 (0.2%) | 0.003 |
| Loop diuretics | 2257 (8.0%) | 307 (6.8%) | 0.046 |
| Potassium-sparing diuretics | 448 (1.6%) | 76 (1.7%) | 0.007 |
| Thiazide diuretics | 4147 (14.8%) | 615 (13.7%) | 0.032 |
| Statins | 13 785 (49.1%) | 2432 (54.1%) | 0.099 |
| Other lipid-lowering medications | 1756 (6.3%) | 335 (7.4%) | 0.047 |
| Index fiscal year | |||
| 2006/07 | 2321 (8.3%) | 584 (13.0%) | 0.153 |
| 2007/08 | 2090 (7.4%) | 375 (8.3%) | 0.033 |
| 2008/09 | 2223 (7.9%) | 263 (5.8%) | 0.082 |
| 2009/10 | 2490 (8.9%) | 295 (6.6%) | 0.087 |
| 2010/11 | 2714 (9.7%) | 247 (5.5%) | 0.158 |
| 2011/12 | 2865 (10.2%) | 253 (5.6%) | 0.17 |
| 2012/13 | 2638 (9.4%) | 297 (6.6%) | 0.103 |
| 2013/14 | 2762 (9.8%) | 271 (6.0%) | 0.141 |
| 2014/15 | 2848 (10.1%) | 468 (10.4%) | 0.009 |
| 2015/16 | 2899 (10.3%) | 853 (19.0%) | 0.246 |
| 2016/17 | 2227 (7.9%) | 593 (13.2%) | 0.171 |
| Time on metformin before add-on therapy | |||
| ≥3 years | 6976 (24.8%) | 1339 (29.8%) | 0.111 |
| 1–3 years | 5892 (21.0%) | 1146 (25.5%) | 0.106 |
| <1 year | 15 209 (55.6%) | 2014 (44.8%) | 0.189 |
ARB, angiotensin receptor blocker; CCB, calcium channel blocker; CKD, chronic kidney disease; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; SMD, standardized mean difference.