Table 1.
Baseline characteristics by use of oral corticosteroids at baseline
| Non‐OCS users n = 164 765 | Periodic OCS users n = 49 930 | Regular OCS users n = 3299 | Total n = 217 994 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years, mean, SD) | 30.7 (25.3) | 40.1 (23.6) | 61.3 (17.7) | 33.3 (25.4) |
| Age group, n (%) | ||||
| <18 | 78 994 (47.9) | 11 397 (22.8) | 54 (1.6) | 90 445 (41.5) |
| 18‐40 | 29 149 (17.7) | 13 229 (26.5) | 327 (9.9) | 42 705 (19.6) |
| 40‐65 | 32 810 (19.9) | 16 282 (32.6) | 1376 (41.7) | 50 468 (23.2) |
| >65 | 23 812 (14.5) | 9022 (18.1) | 1542 (46.7) | 34 376 (15.8) |
| Women, n (%) | 85 367 (51.8) | 29 755 (59.6) | 2042 (61.9) | 117 164 (53.7) |
| Acute lower respiratory infections, n (%) | 14 590 (8.9) | 4618 (9.2) | 347 (10.5) | 19 555 (9.0) |
| Pneumonia, n (%) | 14 179 (8.6) | 5527 (11.1) | 634 (19.2) | 20 340 (9.3) |
| Nasal polyps, n (%) | 3064 (1.9) | 2631 (5.3) | 418 (12.7) | 6113 (2.8) |
| Chronic rhinitis, n (%) | 2494 (1.5) | 948 (1.9) | 92 (2.8) | 3534 (1.6) |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 7912 (4.8) | 2439 (4.9) | 397 (12.0) | 10 748 (4.9) |
| Ischaemic heart disease, n (%) | 8510 (5.2) | 2813 (5.6) | 491 (14.9) | 11 814 (5.4) |
| Heart failure, n (%) | 4418 (2.7) | 1565 (3.1) | 367 (11.1) | 6350 (2.9) |
| Stroke, n (%) | 2688 (1.6) | 766 (1.5) | 131 (4.0) | 3585 (1.6) |
| Osteoporosis, n (%) | 2639 (1.6) | 1089 (2.2) | 294 (8.9) | 4022 (1.8) |
| Glaucoma, n (%) | 3429 (2.1) | 1303 (2.6) | 237 (7.2) | 4969 (2.3) |
| Malignancies, n (%) | 3171 (1.9) | 1260 (2.5) | 198 (6.0) | 4629 (2.1) |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index, n (%) | ||||
| 0‐1 | 146 134 (88.7) | 43 705 (87.5) | 1957 (59.3) | 191 796 (88.0) |
| 2 | 10 576 (6.4) | 3477 (7.0) | 680 (20.6) | 14 733 (6.8) |
| 3 | 5001 (3.0) | 1762 (3.5) | 354 (10.7) | 7117 (3.3) |
| 4+ | 3054 (1.9) | 986 (2.0) | 308 (9.3) | 4348 (2.0) |
| Asthma medications, n (%) | ||||
| Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) | 83 504 (50.7) | 2515 (51.1) | 1487 (45.1) | 110 506 (50.7) |
| Short‐acting ß2‐agonists | 100 200 (60.8) | 35 054 (70.2) | 2113 (64.0) | 137 367 (63.0) |
| Long‐acting ß2‐agonists (LABA) | 13 248 (8.0) | 7140 (14.3) | 788 (23.9) | 21176 (9.7) |
| Fixed ICS/LABA combination | 50 082 (30.4) | 22 887 (45.8) | 1840 (55.8) | 74 809 (34.3) |
| Fixed LABA/LAMA (long‐acting muscarinic antagonist) | 597 (0.4) | 1037 (2.1) | 330 (10.0) | 1964 (0.9) |
| Leukotriene modifiers | 20 143 (12.2) | 9722 (19.5) | 899 (27.3) | 30 764 (14.1) |
| LABA and LABA/LAMA without ICS | 223 (0.1) | 121 (0.1) | 75 (0.2) | 27 (0.8) |
| N‐acetylcysteine | 10 279 (6.2) | 8006 (16.0) | 939 (28.5) | 19 224 (8.8) |
| Long‐acting anticholinergics | 3781 (2.3) | 2713 (5.4) | 431 (13.1) | 6925 (3.2) |
| Adrenergics in combination with anticholinergics | 597 (0.4) | 1037 (2.1) | 330 (10.0) | 1964 (0.9) |
Abbreviations: OCS, oral corticosteroids; SD, standard deviation.