Table 1

Gastrointestinal complications in osteoarthritis versus rheumatoid arthritis

OA hospitalizations

RA hospitalizations

RA deaths

Number of patients

1283

3883

2921

Person years of observation

3234

19,961

12,224

Person years taking NSAID

2199

15,638

8471

Number of GI events

19

228

25

Number of GI events while taking NSAID

16

205

19

Rates/year (%) while taking NSAID

0.73

1.31

0.22

Rates/year (%) while not taking NSAID

0.29

0.19

0.05

Relative risk while taking NSAID

2.51

6.77

4.21

GI, gastrointestinal; NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; OA, osteoarthritis; RA, rheumatoid arthritis. Reproduced with permission from [6].

Peura and Goldkind Arthritis Research & Therapy 2005 7(Suppl 4):S7   doi:10.1186/ar1793