Table 4.
Odds ratios for the 11 study outcomes in relation to oral prednisolone use among asthma patients, by current, recent or past use
| Use of oral prednisolone | Bone-related conditions | Hypertension | Peptic ulcer | Severe Infectionsa | Herpes zoster | DM2 | Cataract | Glaucoma | CKD | Affective disorders | Cardiovascular events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No use (reference) | |||||||||||
| Cases, n (%) | 4558 (51.2) | 4397 (54.0) | 416 (49.8) | 7642 (47.3) | 2056 (49.4) | 2571 (49.6) | 2582 (48.5) | 769 (52.4) | 4344 (49.5) | 2769 (55.8) | 2096 (52.2) |
| Controls, n (%) | 19,038 (53.7) | 17,802 (54.9) | 1805 (54.2) | 36,039 (56.0) | 8875 (53.5) | 11,071 (53.4) | 10,641 (50.6) | 3048 (52.3) | 17,768 (51.1) | 12,016 (60.7) | 8827 (55.4) |
| Current use (< 180 d before ID) | |||||||||||
| Cases, n (%) | 846 (9.5) | 654 (8.0) | 80 (9.6) | 2227 (13.8) | 406 (9.8) | 596 (11.5) | 433 (8.1) | 119 (8.1) | 811 (9.2) | 434 (8.8) | 379 (9.4) |
| Controls, n (%) | 2614 (7.4) | 2414 (7.4) | 225 (6.8) | 4489 (7.0) | 1307 (7.9) | 1617 (7.8) | 1612 (7.7) | 463 (7.9) | 2763 (8.0) | 1210 (6.1) | 1138 (7.1) |
| OR crude (95% CI) | 1.36 (1.26–1.47) | 1.10 (1.01–1.20) | 1.57 (1.23–2.01) | 2.38 (2.26–2.50) | 1.36 (1.22–1.52) | 1.60 (1.46–1.75) | 1.11 (1.00–1.23) | 1.02 (0.84–1.24) | 1.21 (1.12–1.30) | 1.58 (1.42–1.75) | 1.41 (1.26–1.58) |
| ORadjb (95% CI) | 1.27 (1.17–1.37) | 1.03 (0.94–1.12) | 1.47 (1.12–1.92) | 2.16 (2.05–2.27) | 1.32 (1.19–1.48) | 1.35 (1.22–1.49) | 1.03 (0.93–1.15) | 1.06 (0.87–1.29) | 1.14 (1.06–1.24) | 1.47 (1.32–1.63) | 1.33 (1.18–1.49) |
| Recent use (180–365 d before ID) | |||||||||||
| Cases, n (%) | 519 (5.8) | 405 (5.0) | 50 (6.0) | 1121 (6.9) | 267 (6.4) | 293 (5.7) | 310 (5.8) | 75 (5.1) | 478 (5.5) | 308 (6.2) | 212 (5.3) |
| Controls, n (%) | 1858 (5.2) | 1608 (5.0) | 159 (4.8) | 3087 (4.8) | 889 (5.4) | 1036 (5.0) | 1102 (5.2) | 297 (5.1) | 1850 (5.3) | 871 (4.4) | 765 (4.8) |
| OR crude (95% CI) | 1.18 (1.08–1.29) | 1.02 (0.92–1.13) | 1.36 (1.01–1.83) | 1.74 (1.63–1.86) | 1.32 (1.16–1.50) | 1.23 (1.09–1.39) | 1.17 (1.04–1.31) | 0.99 (0.75–1.26) | 1.06 (0.97–1.17) | 1.55 (1.38–1.75) | 1.18 (1.03–1.37) |
| ORadjb (95% CI) | 1.12 (1.02–1.24) | 0.95 (0.85–1.05) | 1.19 (0.87–1.62) | 1.59 (1.49–1.70) | 1.29 (1.13–1.47) | 1.05 (0.92–1.19) | 1.12 (0.99–1.26) | 1.00 (0.79–1.28) | 1.00 (0.91–1.10) | 1.49 (1.32–1.69) | 1.11 (0.95–1.29) |
| Past use (> 365 d before ID) | |||||||||||
| Cases, n (%) | 2984 (33.5) | 2692 (33.0) | 289 (34.6) | 5170 (32.0 | 1434 (34.5) | 1729 (33.3) | 2002 (37.6) | 504 (34.4) | 3145 (35.8) | 1451 (29.2) | 1327 (33.1) |
| Controls, n (%) | 11,935 (33.7) | 10,607 (32.7) | 1139 (34.2) | 20,701 (32.2) | 5534 (33.3) | 6991 (33.8) | 7664 (36.5) | 2024 (34.7) | 12,381 (35.6) | 5712 (28.8) | 5215 (32.7) |
| OR crude (95% CI) | 1.05 (1.00–1.10) | 1.03 (0.98–1.08) | 1.11 (0.95–1.30) | 1.20 (1.16–1.25) | 1.13 (1.05–1.21) | 1.08 (1.01–1.15) | 1.08 (1.02–1.15) | 0.99 (0.88–1.11) | 1.04 (0.99–1.09) | 1.12 (1.05–1.19) | 1.08 (1.01–1.16) |
| ORadjb (95% CI) | 1.03 (0.98–1.08) | 0.97 (0.92–1.02) | 1.05 (0.89–1.25) | 1.14 (1.10–1.19) | 1.13 (1.05–1.21) | 0.98 (0.92–1.05) | 1.04 (0.98–1.10) | 1.00 (0.89–1.13) | 1.01 (0.97–1.07) | 1.10 (1.02–1.18) | 1.06 (0.98–1.14) |
Abbreviations: CI confidence interval, CKD chronic kidney disease, d days, DM2 diabetes mellitus type 2, ID index date, ORadj adjusted odds ratio
aResults from main analysis (the sensitivity analysis restricted to patients with integrated hospital episode statistics yielded similar results, data not shown)
bAdjusted for alcohol consumption, smoking status, body mass index, current or past use of inhaled bronchodilators, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, platelet aggregation inhibitors, anticoagulants, proton pump inhibitors, vitamin D/calcium, bisphosphonates, immunosuppressants, number of prescriptions of inhaled corticosteroids, and Charlson Comorbidity Index