Target Trial Emulation
TIA, stroke, ASCVD, PVD
STROKE, PVD, CKD STAGE 3, ASCVD, TIA
To emulate the previously described target trial, we used a nested trials design with data from the VA Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW)To be considered regular VA users, individual person-trials were assessed for at least 1 clinical visit at VA in the prior year, as measured by a record in the outpatient domain or having a weight measurement in the vitals domain (for calculation of BMI). CKD stage 3 or 4 was identified by at least 1 inpatient or 2 outpatient diagnoses, defined by Veterans with a CKD stage 3 or 4 diagnosis entered the cohort, and their index date was assigned as soon as they had been either a user in VA for a full year or turned 66 years. Patients with any statin use or diagnosis of ASCVD at any time prior to the index date were excluded. ASCVD was defined as a history of MI, TIA, stroke, PVD, or coronary revascularization using a previously published algorithm.