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Table 3 Medication collected during the year prior to index date in (A) all patients with mild to moderate and severe asthma and in (B) in patients after exclusion with a concurrent COPD diagnosis. Age adjusted data presented as number (%)

From: Prevalence and management of severe asthma in primary care: an observational cohort study in Sweden (PACEHR)

  A B
Full study population Asthma only (no COPD)
Mild to moderate (n = 17,934) Severe (n = 790) P value Mild to moderate (n = 16,142) Severe (n = 561) P-value
Asthma medications 11,695 (65.2) 696 (88.1) <0.001 10,063 (62.3) 487 (86.8) <0.001
 Short-acting β2-agonists (SABA) 5984 (33.4) 394 (49.9) <0.001 5180 (32.1) 280 (49.9) <0.001
 Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) 5326 (29.7) 164 (20.8) <0.001 4779 (29.6) 123 (21.9) <0.001
 Long-acting β2-agonists (LABA) 2052 (11.4) 107 (13.5) 0.079 1700 (10.5) 79 (14.0) 0.009
 Short acting anticholinergics 345 (1.9) 25 (3.1) 0.020 144 (0.9) 12 (2.1) 0.005
 Long acting anticholinergics 814 (4.5) 104 (13.2) <0.001 160 (1.0) 14 (2.5) 0.001
 Fixed ICS/LABA combination 4631 (25.8) 511 (64.6) <0.001 3723 (23.1) 351 (62.6) <0.001
 Salbutamol and ipratropiuma 169 (0.9) 25 (3.2) <0.001 62 (0.4) 11 (2.0) <0.001
 Montelukastb 1005 (5.6) 169 (21.4) <0.001 878 (5.4) 130 (23.2) <0.001
 Methylxanthines 76 (0.4) 14 (1.7) <0.001 48 (0.3) 4 (0.8) 0.176
 Anti-IgE treatment (omalizumab) 0 (0.0) 7 (0.9) <0.001 0 (0.0) 6 (1.1) <0.001
 Systemic corticosteroids (OCS) 3132 (17.5) 295 (37.4) <0.001 2581 (16.0) 192 (34.2) <0.001
 N-acetylcysteine 2226 (12.4) 191 (24.2) <0.001 1521 (9.4) 105 (18.7) <0.001
 Antibiotics and oral steroidsc 697 (3.9) 124 (15.7) <0.001    
Cardiovascular medications 6437 (35.9) 336 (42.5) <0.001 5126 (31.8) 211 (37.6) 0.004
 Anti-dyslipidemics 2453 (13.7) 119 (15.0) 0.292 1908 (11.8) 69 (12.3) 0.780
 Anti-hypertensives 4478 (25.0) 224 (28.3) 0.035 3471 (21.5) 137 (24.3) 0.110
 Beta blockers 2474 (13.8) 122 (15.4) 0.208 1873 (11.6) 76 (13.6) 0.179
Other medications 5152 (28.7) 257 (32.5) 0.023 4025 (24.9) 156 (27.9) 0.135
 Antibiotics 3355 (18.7) 209 (26.5) <0.001 2704 (16.7) 120 (21.3) 0.005
 Antihistamines 4437 (24.7) 295 (37.3) <0.001 4117 (25.5) 224 (40.0%) <0.001
 Nasal corticosteroids 3744 (20.9) 244 (30.9) <0.001 3458 (21.4) 191 (34.1) <0.001
 Antidepressant 3039 (16.9) 155 (19.6) 0.056 2565 (15.9) 103 (18.4) 0.131
 Hypnotics 1989 (11.1) 116 (14.7) 0.002 1592 (9.9) 75 (13.4) 0.008
 Antianxiety 2778 (15.5) 134 (16.9) 0.286 2196 (13.6) 78 (13.8) 0.888
 Bisphosphonates 343 (1.9) 34 (4.3) <0.001 231 (1.4) 14 (2.4) 0.060
 Calcium D vitamine 63 (0.3) 9 (1.2) 0.001 57 (0.4) 4 (0.8) 0.302
  1. aSalbutamol and ipratropium inhaled in a fixed combination
  2. bMontelukast was the only available leukotriene modifier on the market
  3. cAntibiotics and oral steroids dispensed concomitantly
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Respiratory Research

ISSN: 1465-993X

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