Table 2.
Characteristics of the study population
| Traditional nonselective NSAIDs (n = 12,418) | Celecoxib (n = 42,422) | Rofecoxib (n = 25,674) | |
| Age (years) | |||
| 18–34 | 18.6 | 3.7 | 6.7 |
| 35–44 | 15.8 | 6.5 | 9.7 |
| 45–54 | 13.2 | 9.9 | 12.1 |
| 55–64 | 13.5 | 15.9 | 16.4 |
| 65–74 | 18.8 | 30.5 | 27.1 |
| 75–84 | 15.1 | 27.1 | 22.7 |
| 85+ | 4.1 | 6.5 | 5.1 |
| Sex | |||
| Female | 55.4 | 67.4 | 65.5 |
| Male | 44.6 | 32.6 | 34.5 |
| Income level | |||
| Low | 14.8 | 10.9 | 11.4 |
| Nonlow | 85.2 | 89.1 | 88.6 |
| Dosage category | |||
| High | 11.6 | 31.2 | 8.8 |
| Standard | 66.3 | 65.3 | 73.0 |
| Low | 22.1 | 3.4 | 18.2 |
| Prior diagnosis of gastropathy | 3.6 | 7.7 | 5.0 |
| Prior gastrointestinal procedures | 2.0 | 4.5 | 2.7 |
| Prior dispensation of gastroprotective agents | 14.0 | 29.9 | 24.3 |
| Prior referral to a gastroenterologist | 2.8 | 6.0 | 3.9 |
| History of NSAID use | |||
| Recent, first time | 3.0 | 2.2 | 2.8 |
| Recent, chronic | 6.6 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
| >1 to 3 months | 15.7 | 7.8 | 6.3 |
| >3 to 12 months | 19.4 | 22.0 | 14.0 |
| No use | 55.2 | 63.7 | 72.8 |
| Anticoagulants | 1.3 | 3.3 | 3.0 |
| Corticosteroids | 11.7 | 19.6 | 16.9 |
| Benzodiazepines | 23.3 | 38.2 | 33.0 |
| Antidepressants | 10.5 | 17.2 | 15.7 |
| Chronic Disease Score | |||
| ≥10 | 5.2 | 10.3 | 8.2 |
| 5–9 | 19.6 | 28.6 | 25.4 |
| 1–4 | 27.9 | 33.6 | 32.6 |
| 0 | 47.3 | 27.6 | 33.8 |
| Prescriber specialty | |||
| General practitioner | 85.9 | 85.3 | 88.3 |
| Cardiology | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Internal Medicine | 2.3 | 3.3 | 2.1 |
| Neurology | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| General surgery | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| Obstetrics/gynaecology | 1.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Orthopaedic surgery | 1.2 | 3.4 | 3.2 |
| Rheumatology | 2.5 | 2.5 | 1.7 |
| Other | 2.8 | 3.8 | 2.9 |
Values are expressed as percentages. NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.