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Table 2 Characteristics of Patients Initiating Lithium and Valproate (Propensity-score Matched Sample)

From: Suicide risk in Veterans Health Administration patients with mental health diagnoses initiating lithium or valproate: a historical prospective cohort study

Patient characteristic

Lithium (n=21194)

Valproate (n=21194)

Standardized difference

 

N

(%)

N

(%)

Demographics

Age ≥50 years olda

10244

48.3

10156

47.9

0.008

Sex (Female)b,c

2894

13.7

2934

13.8

0.005

Race, White b

16748

79.0

16793

79.2

0.005

Race, Black b

2825

13.3

2770

13.1

0.008

Married

7416

35.0

7298

34.4

0.012

State Suicide Rate, 3 rd quintile b

3305

15.6

3251

15.3

0.007

Presenting Diagnosis d (Past 30 days)

Bipolar I Disorder b

9562

45.1

9683

45.7

0.011

Bipolar Disorder,

1643

7.8

1661

7.8

0.003

 Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) b

     

Depressive Disorder,

4214

19.9

4129

19.5

0.010

 Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) b

     

Schizophrenia b

924

4.4

949

4.5

0.006

Other Psychosis b

252

1.2

255

1.2

0.001

Additional Psychiatric Diagnoses (Past Year)

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) b

4842

22.8

4749

22.4

0.010

Alcohol Dependence

4426

20.9

4478

21.1

0.006

Recent Suicidal Behavior Diagnoses (past 30d, by location where diagnosed)

Nonmental Health Hospital-Diagnosed

28

0.13

24

0.11

0.005

Mental Health Hospital-Diagnosed

30

0.14

32

0.15

0.002

Outpatient Visit-Diagnosed

144

0.68

147

0.69

0.002

Recent Suicidal Behavior Diagnoses (past 31-180d, by location where diagnosed)

Nonmental Health Hospital-Diagnosed

43

0.20

43

0.20

0.000

Mental Health Hospital-Diagnosed

31

0.15

29

0.14

0.003

Outpatient Visit-Diagnosed

90

0.42

82

0.39

0.006

Possible Suicidal Behavior-Related Diagnoses (past year)

Any Acute Injury

3872

18.3

3884

18.3

0.001

Recent Discharge from Psychiatric Hospitalization

Discharged in past 7 days

2232

10.5

2219

10.5

0.002

Discharged in past 8-30 days

863

4.1

881

4.2

0.004

Discharged in past 31-180 days

2024

9.5

2063

9.7

0.006

Current Psychiatric Medications

Other Mood Stabilizer(s) b

2891

13.6

2854

13.5

0.005

SSRI antidepressant

7615

35.9

7666

36.2

0.005

SNRI antidepressant

1988

9.4

2019

9.5

0.005

Past Treatment History

Prior Mood Stabilizer b

7503

35.4

7530

35.5

0.003

Diagnoses, Nonpsychiatric (past year)

Mild Liver Disease b

1747

8.2

1719

8.1

0.005

Outpatient Utilization, Nonpsychiatric (past 180d)

Gastroenterology Clinic, 1+ visits b

1102

5.2

1077

5.1

0.005

Current Medications, Nonpsychiatric

Thiazide Diuretic b

1499

7.1

1492

7.0

0.001

ACE Inhibitor b

2764

13.0

2736

12.9

0.004

NSAIDs b

3491

16.5

3522

16.6

0.004

  1. aAge presented in this format (< 50 years vs. ≥ 50 years old) to streamline its presentation within this Table. Age was actually modeled using 11 indicator variables reflecting age groups from < 35 years old, in 5-year intervals, to ≥ 80 years old.
  2. bThis covariate (designated by italics as well as this footnote) had an initial imbalance between the treatment groups of a standardized difference of ≥ 0.10. Please see Additional file 1: Appendix 2, Table S1 if more detail is desired.
  3. cThe proportion of females in the cohort is low because the Veteran sample is predominantly male.
  4. dPercentages for Indicating Diagnoses do not add up to 100%. Some diagnoses were not substantially imbalanced and therefore not included in the Table, although they were included in the propensity score and matched upon (e.g. Major Depression, Bipolar II Disorder, Schizoaffective Disorder, and ≥2 Indicating Diagnoses in past 30 days).