Characteristics of H2RA and non-H2RA users
| All (n=63 397) | H2RA users (n=21 729) | Non-H2RA users (n=41 668) | |
| Age at triple therapy (years)* | 54.7 (46.0–65.4) | 60.0 (51.6–71.0) | 52.0 (43.4–61.6) |
| Male sex (n, %) | 29 499 (46.5%) | 9454 (43.5%) | 20 045 (48.1%) |
| Duration of follow-up (years)* | 7.6 (5.1–10.3) | 7.2 (4.8–9.8) | 7.8 (5.3–10.5) |
| Smoking (n, %) | 1629 (2.6%) | 863 (4.0%) | 766 (1.8%) |
| Alcohol (n, %) | 552 (0.9%) | 232 (1.1%) | 320 (0.8%) |
| Dyspepsia (n, %) | 4145 (6.5%) | 1826 (8.4%) | 2319 (5.6%) |
| GORD (n, %) | 3278 (5.2%) | 1629 (7.5%) | 1649 (4.0%) |
| History of GU (n, %) | 1268 (2.0%) | 446 (2.1%) | 822 (2.0%) |
| History of DU (n, %) | 1897 (3.0%) | 503 (2.3%) | 1394 (3.3%) |
| DM (n, %) | 7383 (11.6%) | 3885 (17.9%) | 3498 (8.4%) |
| Hypertension (n, %) | 13 065 (20.6%) | 7137 (32.8%) | 5928 (14.2%) |
| Dyslipidaemia (n, %) | 5045 (8.0%) | 2939 (13.5%) | 2106 (5.1%) |
| Obesity | 637 (1.0%) | 351 (1.6%) | 286 (0.7%) |
| IHD (n, %) | 5701 (9.0%) | 3560 (16.4%) | 2141 (5.1%) |
| AF (n, %) | 2404 (3.8%) | 1468 (6.8%) | 936 (2.2%) |
| CHF (n, %) | 2512 (4.0%) | 1512 (7.0%) | 1000 (2.4%) |
| Stroke (n, %) | 3965 (6.3%) | 2466 (11.3%) | 1499 (3.6%) |
| CRF (n, %) | 1388 (2.2%) | 814 (3.7%) | 574 (1.4%) |
| Cirrhosis (n, %) | 1037 (1.6%) | 425 (2.0%) | 612 (1.5%) |
| Statins (n, %) | 13 180 (20.8%) | 7401 (34.1%) | 5779 (13.9%) |
| Metformin (n, %) | 7935 (12.5%) | 3899 (17.9%) | 4036 (9.7%) |
| Aspirin (n, %) | 8965 (14.1%) | 6376 (29.3%) | 2589 (6.2%) |
| NSAIDs/COX-2 inhibitors (n, %) | 3556 (5.6%) | 3092 (14.2%) | 464 (1.1%) |
| Clopidogrel (n, %) | 980 (1.5%) | 602 (2.8%) | 378 (0.9%) |
| PPIs (n, %) | 3271 (5.2%) | 1499 (6.9%) | 1772 (4.3%) |
Categorical variables were expressed as number (%).
Drug use was defined as at least weekly use and expressed as number (%).
*Age was expressed as median (years) with IQR.
AF, atrial fibrillation; CHF, congestive heart failure; COX-2, cyclooxygenase-2; CRF, chronic renal failure; DM, diabetes mellitus; DU, duodenal ulcer; GU, gastric ulcer; H2RA, histamine 2 receptor antagonist; IHD, ischaemic heart disease; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; PPIs, proton pump inhibitors.