Table 1.
Characteristics of the study cohort (elderly on asthma medicine)
| Study group | Total | Mean age (SD)a | Males (%) | Montelukastb (%) | Total drugs in DDDs (SD)c |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All subjects | 203,473 | 75.2 (9.7) | 89,755 (44.1) | 23,636 (11.6) | 5.1 (4.6) |
| Montelukast | 23,636 | 73.1 (9.0) | 8964 (37.9) | - | 6.3 (4.3) |
| Dementia medicine | 6453 | 83.6 (7.7) | 2502 (38.8) | 602 (9.3) | 5.6 (3.2) |
| Nursing homed | 5970 | 77.8 (10.4) | 2463 (41.3) | 507 (8.5) | 4.2 (3.5) |
| Death | 61,434 | 82.7 (9.5) | 31,152 (50.7) | 5514 (9.0) | 7.1 (6.3) |
| Parkinson’s medicine | 7140 | 76.1 (9.3) | 2849 (39.9) | 955 (13.4) | 6.3 (3.9) |
| Diabetes medicine | 23,747 | 74.8 (9.1) | 11,920 (50.2) | 2887 (12.2) | 7.8 (4.3) |
aAge in 2014
bAt least two prescriptions
cMean Defined Daily Doses (DDDs) prescribed of any drug
dIt was assumed that a majority of those who did not receive any prescription for more than a year were admitted to a nursing home. Living in a nursing home can be used as a proxy for cognitive decline in that some 80% of Norwegian nursing home residents have dementia [11]