Demographic and clinical characteristics
| Study population 1: general population (people prescribed NSAIDs in the past 3 years) | Study population 2: patients with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis | |||
| Non-use of NSAIDs | Current use of NSAIDS | Non-use of NSAIDs | Current use of NSAIDS | |
| Total | 1 927 284 | 536 423 | 1 533 286 | 175 495 |
| Age as of 1 March 2020 | ||||
| 18–<40 | 598 513 (31.1) | 115 858 (21.6) | 32 958 (2.1) | 4433 (2.5) |
| 40–<50 | 397 201 (20.6) | 103 076 (19.2) | 97 870 (6.4) | 15 813 (9.0) |
| 50–<60 | 423 937 (22.0) | 133 066 (24.8) | 292 186 (19.1) | 45 397 (25.9) |
| 60–<70 | 283 639 (14.7) | 106 205 (19.8) | 416 489 (27.2) | 56 947 (32.4) |
| 70–<80 | 169 281 (8.8) | 62 221 (11.6) | 436 477 (28.5) | 41 350 (23.6) |
| 80+ | 54 713 (2.8) | 15 997 (3.0) | 257 306 (16.8) | 11 555 (6.6) |
| Median, IQR | 49 (36–60) | 53 (42–64) | 68 (58–76) | 63 (55–71) |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 1 093 581 (56.7) | 317 341 (59.2) | 951 417 (62.1) | 110 526 (63.0) |
| Body mass index | ||||
| <18.5 | 26 435 (1.4) | 6041 (1.1) | 19 616 (1.3) | 1260 (0.7) |
| 18.5–24.9 | 484 862 (25.2) | 114 657 (21.4) | 379 233 (24.7) | 31 531 (18.0) |
| 25–29.9 | 577 087 (29.9) | 159 573 (29.7) | 518 602 (33.8) | 55 387 (31.6) |
| 30–34.9 | 333 254 (17.3) | 106 314 (19.8) | 298 505 (19.5) | 40 513 (23.1) |
| 35–39.9 | 138 059 (7.2) | 50 406 (9.4) | 119 286 (7.8) | 20 062 (11.4) |
| 40+ | 71 503 (3.7) | 30 438 (5.7) | 58 801 (3.8) | 12 396 (7.1) |
| Missing | 296 084 (15.4) | 68 994 (12.9) | 139 243 (9.1) | 14 346 (8.2) |
| Ethnicity | ||||
| White | 1 236 854 (64.2) | 357 651 (66.7) | 1 095 982 (71.5) | 125 073 (71.3) |
| Mixed | 20 556 (1.1) | 4696 (0.9) | 6563 (0.4) | 830 (0.5) |
| Asian/Asian British | 151 533 (7.9) | 33 010 (6.2) | 51 587 (3.4) | 6969 (4.0) |
| Black | 49 618 (2.6) | 10 527 (2.0) | 17 645 (1.2) | 2106 (1.2) |
| Other | 30 214 (1.6) | 6925 (1.3) | 10 916 (0.7) | 1241 (0.7) |
| Missing | 438 509 (22.8) | 123 614 (23.0) | 350 593 (22.9) | 39 276 (22.4) |
| Index of multiple deprivation | ||||
| 1 (least deprived) | 388 369 (20.2) | 107 541 (20.0) | 313 701 (20.5) | 30 797 (17.5) |
| 2 | 387 428 (20.1) | 108 997 (20.3) | 309 372 (20.2) | 32 946 (18.8) |
| 3 | 382 357 (19.8) | 107 626 (20.1) | 307 669 (20.1) | 34 597 (19.7) |
| 4 | 384 598 (20.0) | 106 598 (19.9) | 303 859 (19.8) | 36 682 (20.9) |
| 5 (most deprived) | 384 532 (20.0) | 105 661 (19.7) | 298 685 (19.5) | 40 473 (23.1) |
| Smoking status | ||||
| Never | 841 256 (43.6) | 220 293 (41.1) | 672 833 (43.9) | 70 283 (40.0) |
| Former | 665 068 (34.5) | 207 354 (38.7) | 692 164 (45.1) | 80 983 (46.1) |
| Current | 389 340 (20.2) | 103 258 (19.2) | 164 464 (10.7) | 23 913 (13.6) |
| Missing | 31 620 (1.6) | 5518 (1.0) | 3825 (0.2) | 316 (0.2) |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| Hypertension | 353 803 (18.4) | 128 078 (23.9) | 625 247 (40.8) | 66 098 (37.7) |
| Heart failure | 9512 (0.5) | 2433 (0.5) | 36 888 (2.4) | 1413 (0.8) |
| Other heart disease | 27 881 (1.4) | 8726 (1.6) | 57 976 (3.8) | 4202 (2.4) |
| Diabetes | ||||
| Controlled (HbA1c <58 mmol/mol) | 122 653 (6.4) | 42 132 (7.9) | 177 397 (11.6) | 19 535 (11.1) |
| Uncontrolled (HbA1c ≥58 mmol/mol) | 50 268 (2.6) | 16 504 (3.1) | 58 452 (3.8) | 6286 (3.6) |
| HbA1c not measured | 4536 (0.2) | 1303 (0.2) | 3695 (0.2) | 419 (0.2) |
| COPD | 42 636 (2.2) | 15 435 (2.9) | 85 858 (5.6) | 8373 (4.8) |
| Other respiratory diseases | 17 270 (0.9) | 6194 (1.2) | 38 248 (2.5) | 3435 (2.0) |
| Cancer | 95 315 (4.9) | 32 128 (6.0) | 174 647 (11.4) | 15 940 (9.1) |
| Immunosuppression | 9285 (0.5) | 2918 (0.5) | 8498 (0.6) | 1009 (0.6) |
| Chronic kidney disease | 51 642 (2.7) | 17 570 (3.3) | 164 985 (10.8) | 11 148 (6.4) |
| Osteoarthritis | 367 954 (19.1) | 162 676 (30.3) | 1 473 833 (96.1) | 162 676 (92.7) |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 28 690 (1.5) | 21 526 (4.0) | 95 056 (6.2) | 21 526 (12.3) |
| Primary care consultations | ||||
| Median, IQR | 5 (2–10) | 7 (4–13) | 6 (3–11) | 8 (5–14) |
| Min, Max | 0, 626 | 0, 576 | 0, 468 | 0, 360 |
| A&E attendance | ||||
| Median, IQR | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) |
| Min, Max | 0, 118 | 0, 152 | 0, 71 | 0, 63 |
| Vaccination | ||||
| Influenza | 435 383 (22.6) | 162 082 (30.2) | 806 064 (52.6) | 86 515 (49.3) |
| Pneumococcal | 116 464 (6.0) | 44 902 (8.4) | 193 145 (12.6) | 24 744 (14.1) |
| Medications | ||||
| Statin | 223 221 (11.6) | 87 169 (16.3) | 415 120 (27.1) | 47 020 (26.8) |
| Proton-pump inhibitors | 268 934 (14.0) | 342 266 (63.8) | 371 464 (24.2) | 137 180 (78.2) |
| Oral prednisolone | 39 081 (2.0) | 16 084 (3.0) | 61 256 (4.0) | 8265 (4.7) |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 8074 (0.4) | 6680 (1.2) | 16 783 (1.1) | 5104 (2.9) |
| Other DMARDs | 20 770 (1.1) | 16 857 (3.1) | 48 819 (3.2) | 12 753 (7.3) |
A&E, accident & emergency; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; DMARDs, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; HbA1c, hemoglobin A1c; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.