Table 1.
Main characteristics of the cohorts at index date
| Non-osteoporotic cohort | Untreated osteoporotic cohort | Treated osteoporotic cohort | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strontium ranelate | Alendronate sodium | |||
| Number of patients | 115,009 | 11,546 | 2,408 | 20,084 |
| Age (years) | 66.5 ± 11.5 | 70.8 ± 10.8 | 74.1 ± 10.1 | 74.1 ± 10.3 |
| Patients ≥80 years | 18,776 (16.3) | 2,700 (23.4) | 802 (33.3) | 6,775 (33.7) |
| BMI, kg/m² | 27.1 ± 5.6 | 25.2 ± 5.0 | 24.4 ± 4.9 | 25.4 ± 5.2 |
| History of VTE | 1,838 (1.6) | 395 (3.4) | 100 (4.2) | 768 (3.8) |
| Medical history | ||||
| Referralsa, b | 32,124 (27.9) | 6,442 (55.8) | 1,375 (57.1) | 10,906 (54.3) |
| Hospitalisationsb | 2,607 (2.3) | 676 (5.9) | 178 (7.4) | 1,699 (8.5) |
| Fracture | 3,100 (2.7) | 1,181 (10.2) | 323 (13.4) | 2,785 (13.9) |
| Surgery | 12,697 (11.0) | 1,853 (16.0) | 470 (19.5) | 3,555 (17.7) |
| Malignant cancer | 15,371 (13.4) | 2,147 (18.6) | 445 (18.5) | 3,767 (18.8) |
| Varicose veins | 8,247 (7.2) | 1,238 (10.7) | 302 (12.5) | 2,215 (11.0) |
| Previous treatments | ||||
| Oestrogen replacement therapyc | 8,874 (7.7) | 582 (5.0) | 74 (3.1) | 546 (2.7) |
| Oral corticosteroidsc | 2,966 (2.6) | 825 (7.1) | 406 (16.9) | 4,474 (22.3) |
Data are number (%) or mean ± standard deviation
VTE venous thromboembolism (including deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, or retinal vein thrombosis), BMI body mass index
aReferrals to other specialities (traumatology, radiology, and orthopaedic clinic)
bMedical events within 12 months prior to the index date
cPrescriptions ≥3 months, up to 6 months before the index date