How do people with knee osteoarthritis use osteoarthritis pain medications and does this change over time? Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative

Table 2 Medication use during the 30 days prior to baseline, according to baseline demographic and clinical factors

			Medication type used within 30 days of baseline
Variable			Analgesic(s)		Nutraceutical(s)
		n	Prescription; any use reported	Prescription or OTC; frequent use reported	Frequent use reported
Sex	Male	435	25.3%**	39.3%**	42.8%
	Female	552	33.9%**	54.5%**	40.2%
Race	White	701	28.7%	45.2%*	47.9%**
	Non-white	286	33.6%	54.2%*	25.2%**
Age	<65	594	29.6%	46.6%	40.9%
	65 to 74	312	29.5%	48.7%	44.2%
	>74	81	35.8%	53.1%	33.3%
KL grade	2	378	27.0%	43.9%	35.7%**
	3	442	31.7%	50.0%	41.0%**
	4	167	32.9%	50.9%	55.1%**
Pain NRS	0 to 3	233	22.7%**	32.6%**	47.6%*
	4 to 7	535	29.5%**	47.9%**	41.7%*
	8 to 10	219	39.3%**	63.9%**	33.8%*
Co-morb	Absent	696	28.7%	45.8%	45.7%**
	Present	291	33.3%	52.6%	30.9%**
BMI	<26	129	27.1%*	44.2%**	48.8%**
	26 to 30	381	26.2%*	42.3%**	45.4%**
	>30	477	34.0%*	53.2%**	36.1%**

BMI, body mass index kg/m²; Co-morb, co-morbidity; KL, Kellgren-Lawrence; NRS, numerical rating scale; OTC, over the counter. Unadjusted comparison significant at *P <0.05 or **P <0.01.

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