Table 2.
Prevalence of analgesic use and change over time
| Population | OTC only | Rx only | OTC + Rx | Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Survey | T5 | T6 | T5 | T6 | T5 | T6 | T5 | T6 | T5 | T6 | ||||
| Age (years) | n (%) | n (%) | % | % | OR (95 % CI)a | % | % | OR (95 % CI)a | % | % | OR (95 % CI)a | % | % | OR (95 % CI)a |
| Women | ||||||||||||||
| 30–39 | 408 (10.4) | 295 (4.5) | 46.3 | 55.6 | 1.45 (1.05–1.99) | 2.2 | 1.4 | 0.75 (0.23–2.48) | 10.3 | 9.2 | 1.09 (0.63–1.86) | 58.8 | 66.1 | 1.37 (1.00–1.86) |
| 40–49 | 710 (18.1) | 1880 (28.6) | 44.9 | 49.3 | 1.29 (1.07–1.56) | 5.2 | 3.8 | 0.87 (0.57–1.31) | 10.9 | 13.6 | 1.41 (1.08–1.84) | 61.0 | 66.6 | 1.29 (1.08–1.53) |
| 50–59 | 637 (16.2) | 1245 (18.9) | 32.2 | 43.6 | 1.68 (1.36–2.07) | 6.0 | 5.1 | 1.05 (0.68–1.61) | 12.7 | 11.7 | 1.85 (0.71–4.80) | 50.9 | 60.4 | 1.49 (1.23–1.79) |
| 60–69 | 1187 (30.2) | 1987 (30.2) | 29.0 | 31.4 | 1.11 (0.96–1.29) | 7.6 | 7.1 | 0.96 (0.74–1.24) | 11.2 | 11.5 | 1.01 (0.83–1.22) | 47.8 | 50.0 | 1.06 (0.94–1.21) |
| 70–79 | 871 (22.2) | 886 (13.5) | 23.7 | 26.1 | 1.16 (0.94–1.43) | 9.5 | 8.5 | 0.95 (0.69–1.31) | 11.5 | 14.3 | 1.25 (1.00–1.56) | 44.7 | 48.9 | 1.14 (0.96–1.36) |
| 80+ | 118 (3.0) | 288 (4.4) | 25.4 | 25.7 | 1.15 (0.68–1.92) | 5.9 | 8.3 | 1.18 (0.80–1.77) | 15.3 | 13.9 | 0.98 (0.53–1.82) | 46.6 | 47.9 | 1.15 (0.76–1.74) |
| 30–89 | 3931 (100) | 6581 (100) | 32.9 | 38.9 | 1.26 (1.17–1.36) | 6.7 | 5.7 | 0.98 (0.84–1.14) | 11.5 | 12.5 | 1.19 (1.08–1.30) | 51.1 | 57.2 | 1.21 (1.13–1.30) |
| Age–adjustedb | 36.7 | 42.9 | 1.30 (1.20–1.41) | 5.5 | 4.8 | 0.98 (0.84–1.14) | 11.5 | 11.9 | 1.20 (1.09–1.32) | 53.7 | 59.6 | 1.24 (1.15–1.32) | ||
| p, age trend | <.001 | <.001 | <.001 | <.001 | .370 | .471 | <.001 | <.001 | ||||||
| Men | ||||||||||||||
| 30–39 | 273 (8.7) | 211 (3.6) | 30.4 | 39.3 | 1.58 (1.08–2.30) | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.23 (0.32–4.64) | 4.4 | 5.2 | 1.40 (0.60–3.29) | 36.6 | 46.5 | 1.55 (1.08–2.22) |
| 40–49 | 569 (18.1) | 1646 (27.9) | 27.2 | 33.6 | 1.45 (1.18–1.78) | 2.6 | 3.8 | 1.69 (0.97–2.95) | 3.3 | 6.7 | 2.39 (1.45–3.94) | 33.2 | 44.1 | 1.56 (1.29–1.89) |
| 50–59 | 332 (10.6) | 1123 (19.0) | 18.4 | 24.0 | 1.34 (1.01–1.79) | 6.3 | 4.0 | 0.68 (0.42–1.13) | 2.4 | 5.8 | 2.63 (1.25–5.51) | 27.1 | 33.8 | 1.29 (1.01–1.65) |
| 60–69 | 1108 (35.2) | 1939 (32.9) | 14.0 | 18.4 | 1.37 (1.13–1.66) | 5.7 | 4.5 | 0.84 (0.61–1.15) | 4.5 | 5.2 | 1.19 (0.87–1.63) | 24.2 | 28.1 | 1.21 (1.04–1.41) |
| 70–79 | 769 (24.5) | 803 (13.6) | 10.4 | 14.5 | 1.52 (1.13–2.06) | 5.6 | 6.7 | 1.31 (0.88–1.94) | 4.3 | 5.6 | 1.43 (0.91–2.24) | 20.3 | 26.8 | 1.46 (1.17–1.83) |
| 80+ | 94 (3.0) | 178 (3.0) | 10.6 | 10.1 | 0.93 (0.42–2.05) | 7.5 | 5.6 | 0.75 (0.28–2.05) | 1.1 | 4.5 | 4.27 (0.53–34.60) | 19.2 | 20.2 | 1.05 (0.56–1.96) |
| 30–89 | 3145 (100) | 5900 (100) | 17.3 | 23.7 | 1.46 (1.32–1.61) | 4.9 | 4.5 | 1.02 (0.84–1.23) | 3.9 | 5.8 | 1.59 (1.31–1.92) | 26.1 | 33.9 | 1.38 (1.27–1.50) |
| Age–adjustedb | 21.3 | 27.1 | 1.48 (1.33–1.65) | 4.3 | 3.9 | 1.03 (0.85–1.24) | 3.5 | 5.7 | 1.57 (1.29–1.91) | 29.1 | 36.7 | 1.39 (1.27–1.52) | ||
| p, age trend | <.001 | <.001 | .001 | .001 | .727 | .127 | <.001 | <.001 | ||||||
| p, sex | <.001 | <.001 | .037 | .046 | <.001 | <.001 | <.001 | <.001 | ||||||
The proportion of analgesic users last four weeks and odds ratios for use of analgesics in Tromsø 6 compared to Tromsø 5, according to age, sex and prescription category. The Tromsø Study: Tromsø 5 (2001–02, n = 7076) and Tromsø 6 (2007–08, n = 12,481)
OTC “over-the-counter”, non-prescription, Rx prescription, T5 Tromsø 5, T6 Tromsø 6, CI confidence interval, OR odds ratio
aReference category: non-users of both OTC and Rx
bPrevalence estimates age-adjusted with the Norwegian population 01.01.2008 as standard population