Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Use in Chronic Arthritis Pain: Variations by Ethnicity

Abstract

PURPOSE: Our objective was to determine if there are ethnic differences in the use of over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and if observed ethnic differences persist after adjustment for sociodemographic and clinical factors. METHODS: Knee and hip osteoarthritis study participants were identified. Surveys were administered to collect sociodemographics, clinical information, and oral treatment methods for arthritis. Multivariable logistic regression models were created using a fully conditional method. RESULTS: Hispanics (n = 130), compared to non -Hispanic whites (n = 204), were less likely to have a high school education (26.9% vs 63.2%, P <0.001), less likely to have private medical insurance (P <0.001), and more likely to have worse health (P = 0.004). OTC oral NSAID use was less common (52.9% vs 66.3%, P = 0.019), whereas prescription oral NSAID use was more common (43.4% vs 31.7%, P = 0.042) among Hispanics than non -Hispanic whites in the last 6 months. The ethnic difference in using an OTC NSAID instead of not using any oral NSAID was attenuated and no longer significant when adjusted for age, sex, edu-cation, and medical insurance (odds ratio [OR] 0.54 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.28-1.02]). The odds of using a prescription instead of an OTC NSAID remained significantly higher among Hispanics than non -Hispanic whites when adjusted for the same variables (odds ratio 2.17 [95% confidence interval: 1.16-4.05]). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with osteoarthritis, OTC NSAIDs were less commonly used but prescrip-tion NSAIDs were more commonly used by Hispanics than non -Hispanic whites. Sociodemographic fac-tors partially mediate ethnic differences in the use of oral NSAIDs. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.