Table 1

Baseline characteristics of 112 591 patients over 50 years old with type 2 diabetes who were new users of either metformin or sulfonylureas between 2006 and 2018 before balancing of characteristics using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW)

DescriptionMetforminSulfonylureasSMD (%)
n96 14016 451
Gender (% male)46 107 (48.0)8439 (51.3)6.7
Race (%)4.3
 African American9659 (10.0)1535 (9.3)
 Asian2394 (2.5)328 (2.0)
 Caucasian79 693 (82.9)13 853 (84.2)
 Other/unknown4394 (4.6)735 (4.5)
Age at baseline (mean (SD))65.65 (7.83)70.98 (8.71)64.4
Age category: <75 years81 258 (84.5)9690 (58.9)59.3
US region10.5
 Midwest (%)51 871 (54.0)9232 (56.1)
 Northeast (%)11 430 (11.9)2294 (13.9)
 South (%)24 678 (25.7)3706 (22.5)
 West (%)6153 (6.4)850 (5.2)
 Unknown (%)2008 (2.1)369 (2.2)
eGFR (mean (SD))88.47 (16.43)75.48 (21.73)67.4
CKD group (%)67.2
 Stage 146 980 (48.9)4464 (27.1)
 Stage 244 276 (46.1)7708 (46.9)
 Stage 34884 (5.1)4279 (26.0)
Smoking status (%)18.1
 Missing39 916 (41.5)8078 (49.1)
 Current7992 (8.3)1083 (6.6)
 Never24 377 (25.4)3197 (19.4)
 Previous23 855 (24.8)4093 (24.9)
HbA1c (mean (SD))6.76 (0.75)6.95 (0.83)24.3
BMI (mean (SD))33.46 (6.63)32.24 (6.60)18.6
BMI group25.8
 Missing23 243 (24.2)5481 (33.3)
 Underweight (<20 kg/mg2)276 (0.3)86 (0.5)
 Normal (20–25 kg/mg2)4701 (4.9)1084 (6.6)
 Overweight (25–30 kg/mg2)18 766 (19.5)3302 (20.1)
 Obese (>30 kg/mg2)49 154 (51.1)6498 (39.5)
HbA1c group27.3
 HbA1c: <7% (<53 mmol/mol)62 460 (65.0)8583 (52.2)
 HbA1c: 7%–8% (53–64 mmol/mol)26 245 (27.3)5721 (34.8)
 HbA1c: >8 (>64 mmol/mol)7435 (7.7)2147 (13.1)
Length of follow-up in years (mean (SD))3.02 (1.59)3.26 (1.60)15
Year at first prescription (%)34.7
 2007–20089016 (9.4)3190 (19.4)
 2009–201013 001 (13.5)2696 (16.4)
 2011–201221 752 (22.6)3748 (22.8)
 2013–201430 202 (31.4)4325 (26.3)
 2015–201622 169 (23.1)2492 (15.1)
Number of outpatient visits prior to baseline (mean (SD))24.36 (30.39)25.74 (34.85)4.2
All-cause dementia (%)2256 (2.3)951 (5.8)17.5
AD (%)754 (0.8)337 (2.1)11.1
VD (%)349 (0.4)154 (1.0)7.5
MCI (%)1414 (1.5)401 (2.6)7.5
PD (%)625 (0.7)135 (0.8)2
Hypertension (%)68 050 (70.8)11 601 (70.5)0.6
COPD (%)5483 (5.7)1194 (7.3)6.3
Chronic kidney disease (%)4655 (4.8)2740 (16.7)38.9
Stroke/TIA (%)2147 (2.2)562 (3.4)7.1
Heart attack (%)954 (1.0)224 (1.4)3.4
Angina (%)11 081 (11.5)1898 (11.5)0
Heart failure (%)2494 (2.6)1126 (6.8)20.1
Atrial fibrillation (%)9636 (10.0)2256 (13.7)11.4
Coronary artery disease (%)1844 (1.9)535 (3.3)8.4
Substance abuse (%)1131 (1.2)176 (1.1)1
Hyperlipidemia (%)69 957 (72.8)11 026 (67.0)12.5
Head injury (%)537 (0.6)114 (0.7)1.7
Arthritis (%)18 726 (19.5)3057 (18.6)2.3
Major psychiatric disorders (%)11 372 (11.8)1423 (8.6)10.5
Peripheral arterial disease (%)3287 (3.4)998 (6.1)12.5
Eye disease (%)3598 (3.7)711 (4.3)2.9
Cancer (%)4275 (4.4)981 (6.0)6.8
Ace inhibitors (%)38 748 (40.3)7426 (45.1)9.8
Diuretics (%)25 846 (26.9)3930 (23.9)6.9
Beta-2 agonists (%)35 593 (37.0)5530 (33.6)7.1
Angiotensin II receptor blockers (%)21 623 (22.5)3482 (21.2)3.2
Glucocorticoids (%)49 438 (51.4)8533 (51.9)0.9
NSAIDs (%)32 424 (33.7)4332 (26.3)16.2
  • CKD group defined using eGFR and/or diagnosis code.

  • AD, Alzheimer’s disease; BMI, body mass index; CKD, chronic kidney disease; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate by measured laboratory value using Mayo Clinic Quadratic; HbAlc, hemoglobin A1c; MCI, mild cognitive impairment; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; PD, Parkinson's disease; SMD (%), standardized mean difference (values >10% indicate significant imbalance between groups); TIA, transient ischemic attack; VD, vascular dementia.