Table I.
Baseline characteristics of elderly (aged ≥65 years) long-term users of inhaled medications in British Columbia (N = 37,320). Values are no. (%) of patients unless otherwise specified.
| Characteristic | Policy Group Cohort (January 1, 2001) (n = 19,985) |
Prepolicy Group Cohort (January 1, 1998) (n = 17,335) |
|---|---|---|
| Age group | ||
| 66–70 y | 5852 (29) | 5451 (31) |
| >70–75 y | 5349 (27) | 4631 (27) |
| >75–80 y | 4645 (23) | 3758 (22) |
| >80 y | 4139 (21) | 3495 (20) |
| Sex | ||
| Female | 10,566 (53) | 9121 (53) |
| Male | 9419 (47) | 8214 (47) |
| Annual income* | ||
| High (Can >$22,000) | 11,729 (59) | 9703 (56) |
| Moderate (>$16,000–$22,000) | 2922 (15) | 2764 (16) |
| Low ($0–$16,000) | 5334 (27) | 4868 (28) |
| Emergency hospitalizations† | ||
| CAE | ||
| 1 | 649 (3) | 651 (4) |
| 2 | 122 (1) | 107 (1) |
| ≥3 | 36 (0) | 27 (0) |
| Any reason | ||
| 1 | 2268 (11) | 2126 (12) |
| 2 | 558 (3) | 574 (3) |
| ≥3 | 226 (1) | 218 (1) |
| Physician visits† | ||
| 0–4 | 4610 (23) | 4439 (26) |
| ≥5 | 15,375 (77) | 12,896 (74) |
| Romano comorbidity score, mean (SD)† | 0.91 (1.2) | 0.94 (1.2) |
| Respiratory disease grouping*‡ | ||
| COPD | 3553 (18) | 3059 (18) |
| Asthma | 3422 (17) | 3199 (18) |
| Mixed COPD/asthma | 1913 (10) | 1783 (10) |
| Other | 11,097 (56) | 9294 (54) |
| Drug utilization† | ||
| Nonasthma/COPD drugs | 18,977 (95) | 16,255 (94) |
| No. of drugs, mean | 6.5 | 5.9 |
| Asthma/COPD drugs§ | ||
| Inhaled corticosteroids | 15,024 (75) | 12,897 (74) |
| Inhaled SABAs | 14,855 (74) | 13,977 (81) |
| Inhaled anticholinergics | 10,027 (50) | 8322 (48) |
| Inhaled LABAs | 5174 (26) | 1585 (9) |
| Xanthines | 2033 (10) | 2400 (14) |
| Leukotriene antagonists | 819 (4) | 497 (3) |
CAE = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, or emphysema; SABAs = short-acting β2-agonists; LABAs = long-acting β2-agonists.
Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.
Utilization 6 months prior to follow-up.
To be classified as having CAE, patients were required to have ≥3 physician visits 6 months prior to baseline with a diagnosis of CAE (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes 491, 492, 493, 496), with ≥75% of those physician visits being for CAE. Patients with ≥3 visits for CAE but with no disease accounting for ≥75% of visits were classified as mixed COPD/asthma. All remaining patients were classified as “other.”
Monotherapy or combination preparations.