Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of study population during the pre-index baseline period
| Continuous users N = 28,246 n (%) | Discontinuers who remained off therapy N = 34,873 n (%) | Discontinuers who reinitiated therapy N = 29,720 n (%) | Total N = 92,839 n (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age group, years | ||||
| 55–59 | 7355 (26.0) | 8640 (24.8) | 8362 (28.1) | 24,357 (26.2) |
| 60–64 | 6281 (22.2) | 7192 (20.6) | 6518 (21.9) | 19,991 (21.5) |
| 65–69 | 3722 (13.2) | 4474 (12.8) | 3707 (12.5) | 11,903 (12.8) |
| 70–74 | 3566 (12.6) | 4285 (12.3) | 3533 (11.9) | 11,384 (12.3) |
| 75–79 | 3338 (11.8) | 4318 (12.4) | 3316 (11.2) | 10,972 (11.8) |
| 80–89 | 3655 (12.9) | 5305 (15.2) | 3844 (12.9) | 12,804 (13.8) |
| ≥90 | 329 (1.2) | 659 (1.9) | 440 (1.5) | 1428 (1.5) |
| Geographic location (USA) | ||||
| Northeast | 2605 (9.2) | 3005 (8.6) | 2487 (8.4) | 8097 (8.7) |
| Midwest | 9614 (34.0) | 11,837 (33.9) | 9854 (33.2) | 31,305 (33.7) |
| South | 9376 (33.2) | 13,481 (38.7) | 11,805 (39.7) | 34,662 (37.3) |
| West | 6601 (23.4) | 6447 (18.5) | 5467 (18.4) | 18,515 (19.9) |
| Unknown | 50 (0.2) | 103 (0.3) | 107 (0.4) | 260 (0.3) |
| Osteoporosis diagnosis | 9248 (32.7) | 10,027 (28.8) | 8967 (30.2) | 28,242 (30.4) |
| Any osteoporotic fracture | 1012 (3.6) | 1426 (4.1) | 1103 (3.7) | 3541 (3.8) |
| Number of comorbiditiesa | ||||
| 0 | 626 (2.2) | 916 (2.6) | 648 (2.2) | 2190 (2.4) |
| 1–5 | 8502 (30.1) | 9660 (27.7) | 8031 (27.0) | 26,193 (28.2) |
| 6–10 | 12,223 (43.3) | 14,144 (40.6) | 12,278 (41.3) | 38,645 (41.6) |
| ≥11 | 6895 (24.4) | 10,153 (29.1) | 8763 (29.5) | 25,811 (27.8) |
| Number of hospitalizations | ||||
| 0 | 24,738 (87.6) | 29,517 (84.6) | 25,535 (85.9) | 79,790 (85.9) |
| ≥1 | 3508 (12.4) | 5356 (15.4) | 4185 (14.1) | 13,049 (14.1) |
| Number of unique medication classesb (categorized) | ||||
| 0 | 1502 (5.3) | 1603 (4.6) | 1297 (4.4) | 4402 (4.7) |
| 1–4 | 9023 (31.9) | 9711 (27.8) | 7819 (26.3) | 26,553 (28.6) |
| 5–10 | 11,904 (42.1) | 14,486 (41.5) | 12,694 (42.7) | 39,084 (42.1) |
| ≥11 | 5817 (20.6) | 9073 (26.0) | 7910 (26.6) | 22,800 (24.6) |
| Number of outpatient visits (categorized) | ||||
| 0 | 621 (2.2) | 905 (2.6) | 643 (2.2) | 2169 (2.3) |
| 1–5 | 5274 (18.7) | 6317 (18.1) | 5179 (17.4) | 16,770 (18.1) |
| 6–10 | 7473 (26.5) | 8292 (23.8) | 7336 (24.7) | 23,101 (24.9) |
| ≥11 | 14,878 (52.7) | 19,359 (55.5) | 16,562 (55.7) | 50,799 (54.7) |
| Receipt of DXA test | 19,338 (68.5) | 20,440 (58.6) | 17,858 (60.1) | 57,636 (62.1) |
| Initial osteoporosis therapy prescribed | ||||
| Oral BP daily | 156 (0.6) | 259 (0.7) | 184 (0.6) | 599 (0.6) |
| Oral BP weekly | 18,277 (64.7) | 21,405 (61.4) | 19,025 (64.0) | 58,887 (63.4) |
| Oral BP biweekly | 97 (0.3) | 124 (0.4) | 111 (0.4) | 332 (0.4) |
| Oral BP monthly | 5938 (21.0) | 7706 (22.1) | 6251 (21.0) | 19,895 (21.4) |
| Raloxifene | 2819 (10.0) | 2907 (8.3) | 2300 (7.7) | 8026 (8.6) |
| Teriparatide | 412 (1.5) | 397 (1.1) | 301 (1.0) | 1110 (1.2) |
| Calcitonin (oral or nasal spray) | 547 (1.9) | 2075 (6.0) | 1548 (5.2) | 4170 (4.5) |
Notes:
a
To calculate the total number of comorbidities, a tool provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) was used, which clusters patient diagnoses and procedures into a manageable number of clinically meaningful categories.25 This tool was applied to diagnosis and procedure codes in the database;
b
the number of prescriptions filled for unique medication classes was evaluated using the therapeutic class variable in the database.
Abbreviations: BP, bisphosphonate; DXA, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (test of bone mineral density).