Descriptive characteristics of the study cohort exposed to maintenance therapy with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and/or histamine 2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs)
| PPIs only n (%) | H2RAs only n (%) | PPIs and H2RAs n (%) | |
| Total | 797 067 | 20 210 | 25 726 |
| Sex | |||
| Men | 330 885 (41.5) | 8076 (40.0) | 9778 (38.0) |
| Women | 466 182 (58.5) | 12 134 (60.0) | 15 948 (62.0) |
| Age (years) | |||
| <40 | 89 231 (11.2) | 1885 (9.3) | 1822 (7.1) |
| 40–49 | 104 003 (13.1) | 2461 (12.2) | 3268 (12.7) |
| 50–59 | 155 963 (19.6) | 3971 (19.7) | 5878 (22.9) |
| 60–69 | 177 606 (22.3) | 4563 (22.6) | 6354 (24.7) |
| ≥70 | 270 264 (33.9) | 7330 (36.3) | 8404 (32.7) |
| Calendar period | |||
| 2005–2006 | 446 068 (56.0) | 16 550 (81.9) | 23 066 (90.0) |
| 2007–2009 | 222 257 (27.9) | 2670 (13.2) | 2304 (9.0) |
| 2010–2012 | 128 742 (16.2) | 990 (4.9) | 356 (1.4) |
| Indications | |||
| Gastro-oesophageal reflux | 201 868 (25.3) | 2073 (10.3) | 6727 (26.2) |
| Barrett’s oesophagus | 6044 (0.8) | 17 (0.1) | 172 (0.7) |
| Peptic ulcers | 79 597 (10.0) | 1226 (6.1) | 2633 (10.2) |
| Zollinger-Ellison syndrome | 31 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (0.01) |
| Gastroduodenitis | 104 955 (13.2) | 1321 (6.5) | 3695 (14.4) |
| Dyspepsia | 43 901 (5.5) | 649 (3.2) | 1664 (6.5) |
| Helicobacter pylori | 58 366 (7.3) | 641 (3.2) | 2041 (7.9) |
| Long-term non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use | 241 958 (30.4) | 5012 (24.8) | 9628 (37.4) |
| Long-term aspirin use | 277 128 (34.8) | 6533 (32.3) | 9929 (38.6) |
| Number of indications | |||
| 0 | 199 608 (25.0) | 7919 (39.2) | 5402 (21.0) |
| 1 | 330 027 (41.4) | 8487 (42.0) | 10 320 (40.1) |
| ≥2 | 267 432 (33.6) | 3804 (18.8) | 10 004 (38.9) |
| Gastric cancer | |||
| All | 2219 (0.28) | 12 (0.06) | 62 (0.24) |
| Adenocarcinoma | 1943 (0.24) | 10 (0.05) | 54 (0.21) |
| Cardia | 567 (0.07) | 1 (0.00) | 13 (0.05) |
| Non-cardia | 1652 (0.21) | 11 (0.05) | 49 (0.19) |
| Years of follow-up | |||
| Total | 3 866 836 | 116 015 | 163 519 |
| Mean | 4.9 | 5.7 | 6.4 |
| Cumulative defined daily dosages, estimated number of days | |||
| Median | 856 | 450 | 1741 |
| IQR | 356–2102 | 270–990 | 1043–2732 |
| Mortality | |||
| Total | 137 619 (17.3) | 3915 (19.4) | 3812 (14.8) |
| In gastric cancer cases | 1473 (66.4) | 9 (75.0) | 39 (62.9) |