Table 2

Characteristics of the study population


Traditional nonselective NSAIDs (n = 12,418)
Celecoxib (n = 42,422)
Rofecoxib (n = 25,674)

Age (years)



     18–34
18.6
3.7
6.7
     35–44
15.8
6.5
9.7
     45–54
13.2
9.9
12.1
     55–64
13.5
15.9
16.4
     65–74
18.8
30.5
27.1
     75–84
15.1
27.1
22.7
     85+
4.1
6.5
5.1
Sex



     Female
55.4
67.4
65.5
     Male
44.6
32.6
34.5
Income level



     Low
14.8
10.9
11.4
     Nonlow
85.2
89.1
88.6
Dosage category



     High
11.6
31.2
8.8
     Standard
66.3
65.3
73.0
     Low
22.1
3.4
18.2
Prior diagnosis of gastropathy
3.6
7.7
5.0
Prior gastrointestinal procedures
2.0
4.5
2.7
Prior dispensation of gastroprotective agents
14.0
29.9
24.3
Prior referral to a gastroenterologist
2.8
6.0
3.9
History of NSAID use



     Recent, first time
3.0
2.2
2.8
     Recent, chronic
6.6
4.3
4.2
     >1 to 3 months
15.7
7.8
6.3
     >3 to 12 months
19.4
22.0
14.0
     No use
55.2
63.7
72.8
Anticoagulants
1.3
3.3
3.0
Corticosteroids
11.7
19.6
16.9
Benzodiazepines
23.3
38.2
33.0
Antidepressants
10.5
17.2
15.7
Chronic Disease Score



     ≥10
5.2
10.3
8.2
     5–9
19.6
28.6
25.4
     1–4
27.9
33.6
32.6
     0
47.3
27.6
33.8
Prescriber specialty



     General practitioner
85.9
85.3
88.3
     Cardiology
1.0
0.4
0.3
     Internal Medicine
2.3
3.3
2.1
     Neurology
0.3
0.3
0.2
     General surgery
1.4
0.8
1.0
     Obstetrics/gynaecology
1.5
0.2
0.3
     Orthopaedic surgery
1.2
3.4
3.2
     Rheumatology
2.5
2.5
1.7
     Other
2.8
3.8
2.9

Values are expressed as percentages. NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

Moride et al. Arthritis Res Ther 2005 7:R333   doi:10.1186/ar1488