Table 1.
Primary care consultations and antibiotic prescribing proportions per consultation in adult men and women (aged 19–64 years) with and without comorbidity for 12 different conditions. Only consultations from patients’ primary registered practices are included.
| Number of consultations (% of total) | F:M consultation ratio |
Proportion of patients receiving prescription when consulting (95% CI) | Relative risk of receiving antibiotic prescription when consulting as female (95% CI) (P value) | |||
| Women | Men | Women | Men | |||
| Acne | 25 676 (74) | 8864 (26) | 2.90 | 41% (40% to 41%) | 60% (59% to 61%) | 0.67 (0.66 to 0.69) (<0.001) |
| Acne with comorbidity | 2344 (66) | 1185 (34) | 1.98 | 40% (38% to 42%) | 55% (52% to 58%) | 0.73 (0.68 to 0.78) (<0.001) |
| Bronchitis | 7085 (61) | 4584 (39) | 1.55 | 83% (83% to 84%) | 84% (83% to 86%) | 0.99 (0.97 to 1.00) (0.14) |
| Bronchitis with comorbidity | 3101 (60) | 2065 (40) | 1.50 | 87% (86% to 89%) | 89% (88% to 91%) | 0.98 (0.96 to 1.00) (0.03) |
| COPD | 3274 (59) | 2271 (41) | 1.44 | 76% (74% to 78%) | 75% (73% to 77%) | 1.02 (0.99 to 1.05) (0.25) |
| COPD with non-respiratory comorbidity | 1287 (56) | 1029 (44) | 1.25 | 73% (70% to 76%) | 70% (69% to 72%) | 1.06 (1.01 to 1.11) (0.02) |
| Cough | 158 614 (61) | 103 058 (39) | 1.54 | 48% (48% to 49%) | 48% (48% to 48%) | 1.01 (1.00 to 1.02) (0.02) |
| Cough with comorbidity | 68 353 (60) | 46 210 (40) | 1.48 | 58% (57% to 58%) | 56% (56% to 57%) | 1.03 (1.02 to 1.04) (<0.001) |
| Gastroenteritis | 41 870 (58) | 30 810 (42) | 1.36 | 6% (6% to 6%) | 6% (6%–6%) | 1.01 (0.96 to 1.08) (0.65) |
| Gastroenteritis with comorbidity | 12 184 (57) | 9216 (43) | 1.32 | 8% (7% to 8%) | 7% (7% to 8%) | 1.03 (0.94 to 1.14) (0.49) |
| ILI | 10 569 (57) | 7946 (43) | 1.33 | 20% (19% to 20%) | 19% (18%–20%) | 1.02 (0.96 to 1.09) (0.47) |
| ILI with comorbidity | 1951 (57) | 1468 (43) | 1.33 | 25% (23% to 27%) | 29% (27% to 31%) | 0.87 (0.78 to 0.97) (0.02) |
| Impetigo | 5272 (64) | 2907 (36) | 1.81 | 52% (51% to 54%) | 62% (60% to 63%) | 0.85 (0.81 to 0.88) (<0.001) |
| Impetigo with comorbidity | 1139 (66) | 598 (34) | 1.90 | 54% (51% to 57%) | 63% (58% to 66%) | 0.86 (0.80 to 0.94) (<0.001) |
| LRTI | 52 996 (60) | 35 777 (40) | 1.48 | 91% (91% to 92%) | 91% (91% to 91%) | 1.00 (1.00 to 1.01) (0.02) |
| LRTI with comorbidity | 36 693 (60) | 24 519 (40) | 1.50 | 91% (90% to 91%) | 90% (89% to 90%) | 1.01 (1.01 to 1.02) (<0.001) |
| Otitis media | 11 773 (64) | 6545 (36) | 1.80 | 84% (84% to 85%) | 84% (83% to 85%) | 1.00 (0.99 to 1.02) (0.58) |
| Otitis media with comorbidity | 2556 (65) | 1400 (35) | 1.83 | 85% (84% to 87%) | 84% (82% to 86%) | 1.01 (0.98 to 1.04) (0.41) |
| Sinusitis | 46 221 (74) | 16 625 (26) | 2.78 | 88% (88% to 89%) | 86% (86% to 87%) | 1.02 (1.02 to 1.03) (<0.001) |
| Sinusitis with comorbidity | 12 013 (73) | 4394 (27) | 2.73 | 90% (90% to 91%) | 89% (88% to 90%) | 1.02 (1.00 to 1.03) (0.006) |
| Sore throat | 136 117 (68) | 65 531 (32) | 2.08 | 57% (56% to 57%) | 57% (56%–57%) | 1.00 (0.99 to 1.01) (0.67) |
| Sore throat with comorbidity | 24 376 (67) | 11 968 (33) | 2.04 | 53% (52% to 54%) | 50% (49% to 51%) | 1.06 (1.04 to 1.08) (<0.001) |
| URTI | 90 295 (68) | 42 998 (32) | 2.10 | 34% (34% to 34%) | 36% (35% to 36%) | 0.96 (0.94 to 0.97) (<0.001) |
| URTI with comorbidity | 22 995 (65) | 12 515 (35) | 1.84 | 45% (45% to 46%) | 45% (44% to 46%) | 1.00 (0.98 to 1.02) (0.96) |
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ILI, influenza-like illness; LRTI, lower respiratory tract infection; URTI, upper respiratory tract infection.