Table I.
Baseline characteristics in the study population.
| Total (n = 474 201) n (%) |
Per CV risk group | |||
| Low CV risk (n = 365 534) n (%) |
Moderate CV risk (n = 67 184) n (%) |
High CV risk (n = 41 483) n (%) |
||
| Age (mean ± SD) | 46.6 ± 17.4 | 42.2 ± 15.5 | 58.9 ± 14.7 | 65.3 ± 14.5 |
| Age category: | ||||
| 18–35 years 36–50 years 51–65 years > 65 years |
144 797 (30.5) 147 497 (31.1) 108 132 (22.8) 73 775 (15.6) |
138 809 (38.0) 127 403 (34.9) 69 526 (19.0) 29 796 (8.2) |
4 532 (6.7) 14 773 (22.0) 25 735 (38.3) 22 144 (33.0) |
1 456 (3.5) 5 321 (12.8) 12 871 (31.0) 21 835 (52.6) |
| Female | 256 015 (54.0) | 196 550 (53.8) | 38 906 (57.9) | 20 559 (49.6) |
| NSAID prescription in six months prior to diagnosis | 37 637 (7.9) | 26 472 (7.2) | 6 831 (10.2) | 4 334 (10.4) |
| MSK complaint episode: | ||||
| Symptomatic diagnosis | ||||
| Back/neck Upper extremity Lower extremity Generalized/other |
108 213 (22.8) 82 026 (17.3) 66 107 (13.9) 59 986 (12.6) |
86 957 (24.1) 63 366 (17.3) 49 802 (13.6) 46 572 (12.7) |
12 641 (18.8) 11 810 (17.6)NS1 10 003 (14.9) 8 035 (12.0) |
7 615 (18.4) 6 850 (16.5) 6 302 (15.2) 5 379 (13.0)NS2 |
| Arthritis | 21 529 (4.5) | 11 548 (3.2) | 5 739 (8.5) | 4 242 (10.2) |
| Inflammatory arthritis Osteoarthritis Gout |
4 676 (1.0) 11 211 (2.4) 5 642 (1.2) |
2 874 (0.8) 5 944 (1.6) 2 730 (0.7) |
1 045 (1.6) 3 056 (4.5) 1 638 (2.4) |
757 (1.8) 2 211 (5.3) 1 274 (3.1) |
| Radiculopathy Trauma Other |
25 409 (5.4) 55 211 (11.6) 55 720 (11.8) |
19 180 (5.2) 45 586 (12.5) 41 523 (11.4) |
3 822 (5.7) 6 064 (9.0) 9 070 (13.5) |
2 407 (5.8) 3 561 (8.6) 5 127 (12.4) |
| Individual CV risk factors:3 | ||||
| Diabetes Hypertension Hyperlipidaemia MI/AP Stroke/TIA PAD |
28 597 (6.0) 63 841 (13.5) 30 600 (6.5) 27 118 (5.7) 14 118 (3.0) 5 715 (1.2) |
– – – – – – |
20 847 (31.0) 46 077 (68.6) 18 129 (27.0) – – – |
7 750 (18.7) 17 764 (42.8) 12 471 (30.1) 27 118 (65.4) 14 118 (34.0) 5 715 (13.8) |
| UGI risk group: | ||||
| Low UGI risk Moderate UGI risk High UGI risk |
335 556 (70.8) 63 843 (13.5) 74 802 (15.8) |
305 168 (83.5) 34 692 (9.5) 25 674 (7.0) |
22 003 (32.8) 21 058 (31.3) 24 123 (35.9) |
8 385 (20.2) 8 093 (19.5) 25 005 (60.3) |
| Renal insufficiency | 285 (0.1) | 27 (0.01) | 118 (0.2) | 140 (0.3) |
Notes: CV: cardiovascular; NSAID: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; NS: non-significant; MSK: musculoskeletal; MI: myocardial infarction; AP: angina pectoris; TIA:transient ischaemic attack; PAD: peripheral arterial disease; UGI: upper gastrointestinal. Comparisons were made for the moderate versus the low CV risk group and for the high versus the low CV risk group. All comparisons between moderate or high CV risk patients and low CV risk patients were statistically significant (p-value < 0.05), unless otherwise stated with the letters ‘NS’: non-significant. 1Comparison with low CV risk patients not statistically significant, p-value 0.13. 2Comparison with low CV risk patients not statistically significant, p-value 0.19. 3Risk factors used to define low, moderate, and high CV risk groups.