Table 1.
Demographic characteristics, treatment duration, mode of administration, and consistency of NSAID use
| Characteristics | All patients (N = 180,371) | Patients < 65 years (N = 165,938) | Patients ≥ 65 years (N = 14,433) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age at index date, mean ± SD (years) | 49.3 ± 11.8 | 47.7 ± 10.8 | 68.2 ± 2.8 |
| Men, n (%) | 92,650 (51.4) | 86,079 (51.9) | 6571 (45.5) |
| Follow-up duration, median (IQR) (days) | 857.0 (433.0, 1460.0) | 884.0 (450.0, 1491.0) | 610.0 (308.0, 1086.0) |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | |||
| GI disease | 14,285 (7.9) | 12,407 (7.5) | 1878 (13.0) |
| Renal disease | 1454 (0.8) | 1183 (0.7) | 271 (1.9) |
| CV disease (excluding hypertensive disease) | 24,238 (13.4) | 19,560 (11.8) | 4678 (32.4) |
| Hypertension | 39,413 (21.9) | 32,321 (19.5) | 7092 (49.1) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 21,240 (11.8) | 17,405 (10.5) | 3835 (26.6) |
| NSAIDs as first-line analgesics | 161,152 (89.3%) | 148,146 (89.3) | 13,006 (90.1) |
| Patients stratified by treatment duration, mean ± SD (years) | |||
| > 0 to ≤ 1 | 152,408 (84.5) | 140,732 (84.8) | 11,676 (80.9) |
| > 1 to ≤ 3 | 7449 (4.1) | 6326 (3.8) | 1123 (7.8) |
| > 3 to ≤ 5 | 1022 (0.6) | 849 (0.5) | 173 (1.2) |
| > 5 | 273 (0.2) | 239 (0.1) | 34 (0.2) |
| Consistent use of NSAIDsa, n (%) | 33,795 (21.0) | 29,724 (20.1) | 4071 (31.3) |
| Mode of administration of first-line NSAIDs, n (%) | |||
| Oral | 145,597 (90.3) | 135,074 (91.2) | 10,523 (80.9) |
| Patch | 129,591 (80.4) | 118,328 (79.9) | 11,263 (86.6) |
| Other transdermal | 38,648 (24.0) | 35,126 (23.7) | 3522 (27.1) |
| Suppository | 18,580 (11.5) | 17,418 (11.8) | 1162 (8.9) |
CV cardiovascular, GI gastrointestinal, IQR interquartile range, NSAID nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug
aDefined as percentage of supply days ≥ 70%