Matched crude and adjusted rate ratios (RR) for acute myocardial infarction in relation to the quantity of inhaled corticosteroids dispensed in the prior year
| Case | Controls# | Crude RR | Adjusted RR¶ | |
| Subjects n | 371 | 1864 | ||
| No exposure in the last 12 months | 214 (57.7) | 1000 (54.3) | 1 (ref. group) | 1 (ref. group) |
| Average daily dose in the last 12 months beclomethasone-equivalent units | ||||
| ≤50 µg·day−1 | 19 (5.1) | 123 (6.3) | 0.74 (0.44–1.24) | 0.82 (0.48–1.42) |
| 50–200 µg·day−1 | 47 (12.7) | 322 (17.6) | 0.68 (0.48–0.97) | 0.68 (0.47–0.99) |
| 200–500 µg·day−1 | 39 (10.5) | 199 (10.6) | 0.92 (0.63–1.34) | 0.84 (0.55–1.29) |
| >500 µg·day−1 | 52 (14.0) | 220 (11.3) | 1.15 (0.81–1.63) | 1.07 (0.71–1.60) |
Data are presented as n (%) or RR (95% confidence interval), unless otherwise stated. ref.: reference. #: to account for the variable number of controls in each matched set, all means, sd and percentages were weighted by the inverse of the number of controls in each set; ¶: adjusted for age and duration of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; by study design), and for sex, number of COPD exacerbations, number of prescriptions of bronchodilators in the last 12 months (none, 1–12, >12), oral corticosteroid dose dispensed in the last 12 months, hospitalisation in the last 3 months, diabetes, systemic hypertension, ischaemic heart disease and heart failure.