Effects of Nonpersistence With Medication on CV Disease
Effects of Nonpersistence With Medication on CV Disease
Average persistence in a patient was calculated as the percentage of visits for which taking of at least 75% of study medication had been documented, with all patients' visits as the denominator. We tested for differences between persistent and nonpersistent patients by means of univariate χ tests. In addition, we used a multivariate Cox regression model to assess the impact of baseline characteristics on the time to permanent stop of study medication. The association between study drug discontinuation and CV events (time to the first event) was analyzed using nonpersistence as a fixed and a time-dependent covariate in a Cox regression model while adjusting for potential confounders, as displayed in Table I. In the analysis of discontinuations after nonfatal events, we allowed for different hazard ratios (HRs) in the first year after the event and later on. Hazard ratios were used to describe the relationship of nonpersistence to the risk of clinical outcomes, or the risk of nonpersistence after a clinical event. Because this was a post hoc analysis with multiple comparisons, a 2-tailed P < .01 was considered statistically significant and 99% CIs were reported.
The ONTARGET trial was funded by Boehringer-Ingelheim GmbH, Germany. M.B. and U.L. are supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. H.S. is an employee of Boehringer-Ingelheim. The authors are solely responsible for the design and conduct of this study, all study analyses, the drafting and editing of the manuscript, and its final contents.
Statistical Analysis
Average persistence in a patient was calculated as the percentage of visits for which taking of at least 75% of study medication had been documented, with all patients' visits as the denominator. We tested for differences between persistent and nonpersistent patients by means of univariate χ tests. In addition, we used a multivariate Cox regression model to assess the impact of baseline characteristics on the time to permanent stop of study medication. The association between study drug discontinuation and CV events (time to the first event) was analyzed using nonpersistence as a fixed and a time-dependent covariate in a Cox regression model while adjusting for potential confounders, as displayed in Table I. In the analysis of discontinuations after nonfatal events, we allowed for different hazard ratios (HRs) in the first year after the event and later on. Hazard ratios were used to describe the relationship of nonpersistence to the risk of clinical outcomes, or the risk of nonpersistence after a clinical event. Because this was a post hoc analysis with multiple comparisons, a 2-tailed P < .01 was considered statistically significant and 99% CIs were reported.
The ONTARGET trial was funded by Boehringer-Ingelheim GmbH, Germany. M.B. and U.L. are supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. H.S. is an employee of Boehringer-Ingelheim. The authors are solely responsible for the design and conduct of this study, all study analyses, the drafting and editing of the manuscript, and its final contents.
Source...