Table 1.
The demographic and clinical characteristics of the studied population, n=291
| Cohort | Pregabalin | Gabapentin | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | 291 | 247 (85.0) | 44 (15.0) | |
| Female gender | 178 (61.2) | 149 (60.0) | 29 (66.0) | |
| Age | Mean (±SD) | 60.5 (13.0) | 60.1 (12.7) | 62.9 (13.4) |
| 18-30 | 2 (0.8) | 2 (0.8) | - | |
| 31-40 | 5 (2.0) | 5 (2.0) | - | |
| 41-50 | 31 (10.7) | 26 (10.5) | 5 (11.4) | |
| 51-60 | 63 (21.6) | 52 (21.0) | 11 (25.0) | |
| >60 | 190 (65.3) | 162 (66.0) | 28 (64.0) | |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| Cardiovascular diseases | 230 (79.0) | 191 (77.3) | 39 (88.6.) | |
| - Hypertension | 137 (47.1) | 113 (45.7) | 24 (54.5) | |
| - Dyslipidemia | 62 (21.3) | 52 (21.1) | 10 (22.7) | |
| - Ischemic heart disease | 14 (4.8) | 10 (4.0) | 4 (9.1) | |
| Endocrine | 137 (47.1) | 113 (45.7) | 24 (54.5) | |
| - Diabetes mellitus | 124 (42.6) | 104 (42.1) | 20 (45.5) | |
| - Thyroid diseases | 11 (3.8) | 7 (2.8) | 4 (9.1) | |
| Rheumatology | 72 (24.7) | 62 (21.3) | 10 (22.7) | |
| - Osteoporosis | 21 (7.2) | 16 (6.5) | 5 (11.4) | |
| - Osteoarthritis | 17 (5.8) | 15 (6.1) | 2 (4.5) | |
| - Rheumatoid arthritis | 8 (3.2) | 8 (3.2) | - | |
| Neurology | 47 (16.4) | 40 (16.2) | 7 (15.9) | |
| Orthopedic | 40 (13.7) | 35 (14.2) | 5 (11.4) | |
| Others | 109 (37.4) | 88 (35.6) | 21 (47.4) | |
| Setting | ||||
| Outpatient | 264 (91.0) | 223 (90.0) | 41 (93.0) | |
| Prescription type (N = 216) | ||||
| Follow up visit | 116 (53.7) | 96 (52.5) | 20 (60.6) | |
| Refill | 97 (44.9) | 84 (45.9) | 13 (39.4) | |
| New | 3 (1.4) | 3 (1.6) | - | |
| Prescriber’s specialty (N = 247) | ||||
| Endocrinology | 41 (16.6) | 37 (17.6) | 4 (10.8) | |
| Family medicine | 30 (12.1) | 25 (11.9) | 5 (13.5) | |
| Medicine | 28 (11.3) | 24 (11.4) | 4 (10.8) | |
| Neurology | 24 (9.7) | 17 (8.1) | 7 (18.9) | |
| Hematology | 21 (8.5) | 19 (9.0) | 2 (5.4) | |
| Others | 103 (41.7) | 88 (41.9) | 15 (40.5) | |
| Prescriber’s rank (N = 174) | ||||
| Consultant | 57 (32.8) | 49 (32.9) | 8 (32.0) | |
| Specialist | 55 (31.6) | 50 (33.6) | 5 (20.0) | |
| Resident | 44 (25.3) | 36 (24.2) | 8 (32.0) | |
| Intern/senior medical officer | 18 (10.3) | 14 (9.4) | 4 (16.0) |
Some data do not add up to 100% as some were missing