Table 2. Patient characteristics at their first asthma preventer prescription by ICS dose prescribed; low-dose ICSs compared with medium/high-dose ICSs.
| Low-Dose ICSs Incident Prescription | Medium/High-Dose ICSs Incident Prescription | |
|---|---|---|
| Median (IQR) | Median (IQR) | |
| Age (years) | 48 (35–62) | 52 (39–64) |
| Reliever frequency | 1 (0–2) | 0 (0–1) |
| N (%) | N (%) | |
| Total | 68,363 (100%) | 39,545 (100%) |
| Never smoked | 22,727 (33.2%) | 12,186 (30.8%) |
| Atopy | 32,314 (47.3%) | 18,544 (46.9%) |
| Anxiety | 13,016 (19.0%) | 7,455 (18.9%) |
| Reflux | 6,993 (10.2%) | 4,746 (12.0%) |
| Bronchiectasis | 306 (0.4%) | 418 (1.1%) |
| GP-treated exacerbations | 7,666 (11.2%) | 5,379 (13.6%) |
| Hospital exacerbations | 883 (1.3%) | 885 (2.2%) |
| IHD | 3,181 (4.7%) | 2,502 (6.3%) |
| Hypertension | 14,211 (20.8%) | 9,073 (22.9%) |
| Arrhythmia | 2,021 (3.0%) | 1,536 (3.9%) |
| Pneumonia | 1,812 (2.7%) | 1,332 (3.4%) |
| Comorbidity that could be worsened by corticosteroids | 7,674 (11.2%) | 5,128 (13.0%) |
| Glaucoma | 862 (1.3%) | 639 (1.6%) |
| Cataracts | 2,125 (3.1%) | 1,419 (3.6%) |
| Osteopenia/osteoporosis | 1,960 (2.9%) | 1,337 (3.4%) |
| Diabetes | 3,875 (5.7%) | 2,498 (6.3%) |
Abbreviations: GP, general practitioner; ICS, inhaled corticosteroid; IHD, ischaemic heart disease.