| Characteristic | No. (%) of patients* (n = 60 924) |
|---|---|
| Sociodemographic | |
| Age, mean (median) (Q1-Q3), yr | 64.8 (67) (57-74) |
| Sex | |
| Female | 32 033 (52.6) |
| Male | 28 891 (47.4) |
| Socioeconomic status at initiation of treatment | |
| No guaranteed income supplement | 32 043 (52.6) |
| Partial guaranteed income supplement | 15 517 (25.5) |
| Maximum guaranteed income supplement or social assistance | 13 364 (21.9) |
| Use of health care services† | |
| Loyalty to a pharmacy | |
| Yes | 33 977 (55.8) |
| No | 26 947 (44.2) |
| Hospital admission for any cause | |
| Yes | 20 778 (34.1) |
| No | 40 146 (65.9) |
| No. of distinct drugs claimed, mean (median) (Q1-Q3) | 12.3 (11) (8-15) |
| Initial drug claim | |
| Initial drug treatment | |
| Metformin monotherapy | 47 002 (77.1) |
| Sulfonylurea monotherapy | 9685 (15.9) |
| Monotherapy with other orally administered antidiabetic | 774 (1.3) |
| Bi-therapy with other orally administered antidiabetics | 3435 (5.6) |
| Tri-, quadri- or pentatherapy with other orally administered antidiabetics | 28 (0.1) |
| Specialty of physician who prescribed initial therapy | |
| General practitioner | 49 814 (81.8) |
| Endocrinologist or internist | 7611 (12.5) |
| Other | 3405 (5.6) |
| Unknown | 94 (0.2) |
| Year treatment initiated | |
| 2000 | 7446 (12.2) |
| 2001 | 7337 (12.0) |
| 2002 | 7563 (12.4) |
| 2003 | 8177 (13.4) |
| 2004 | 9712 (15.9) |
| 2005 | 10 004 (16.4) |
| 2006 | 10 685 (17.5) |
Note: Q = quartile.
*Except where noted otherwise.
†Measured in the first year following initiation of treatment (including day of initiation and 365th day).