Kaplan–Meier estimates of infection per level of time-variant current daily and cumulative oral glucocorticoid prednisolone-equivalent dose
| Variable | Cumulative probability, % (95% CI)*; infection type | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-cause | Bacterial | Viral | Parasitic | Fungal | |
| Incident infections, no. (%) | 22 234 (100) | 5234 (23.5) | 5344 (24.0) | 1120 (5.0) | 5416 (24.4) |
| At 1 year | 18.3 (17.9–18.7) | 3.2 (3.0–3.3) | 3.8 (3.6–3.9) | 0.9 (0.8–1.0) | 3.9 (3.7–4.1) |
| Current daily dose, mg | |||||
| Nonuse | 12.9 (12.4–13.4) | 2.1 (1.8–2.3) | 2.5 (2.2–2.7) | 0.6 (0.5–0.7) | 2.4 (2.2–2.7) |
| >0.0–4.9 | 18.0 (17.1–18.8) | 3.4 (3.0–3.8) | 3.6 (3.2–4.0) | 0.8 (0.6–1.0) | 4.0 (3.6–4.5) |
| 5.0–14.9 | 21.1 (20.4–21.8) | 3.5 (3.1–3.8) | 4.6 (4.2–5.0) | 1.1 (0.9–1.3) | 4.7 (4.3–5.1) |
| 15.0–24.9 | 30.4 (28.5–32.2) | 6.3 (5.3–7.4) | 7.2 (6.1–8.3) | 2.0 (1.4–2.5) | 7.3 (6.3–8.4) |
| ≥25.0 | 35.8 (32.9–38.6) | 7.9 (6.2–9.7) | 8.0 (6.2–9.7) | 2.1 (1.1–3.0) | 8.5 (6.7–10.3) |
| Cumulative dose in last year, mg | |||||
| Nonuse | 5.1 (4.8–5.3) | 0.7 (0.6–0.8) | 0.8 (0.7–0.9) | 0.2 (0.1–0.2) | 0.9 (0.7–1.0) |
| >0.0–959.9 | 39.0 (37.4–40.5) | 11.4 (10.0–12.7) | 13.9 (12.5–15.3) | 3.6 (2.8–4.4) | 12.9 (11.6–14.3) |
| 960.0–3054.9 | 49.2 (47.9–50.4) | 17.1 (15.7–18.5) | 18.5 (17.1–19.9) | 5.6 (4.7–6.5) | 20.3 (18.9–21.7) |
| ≥3055.0 | 60.2 (57.9–62.4) | 23.3 (20.2–26.3) | 25.8 (22.7–28.7) | 7.9 (5.9–9.9) | 24.4 (21.3–27.3) |
| Total cumulative dose, mg | |||||
| Nonuse | 20.6 (19.6–21.6) | 3.5 (3.0–4.0) | 4.0 (3.5–4.5) | 1.0 (0.8–1.3) | 4.3 (3.8–4.9) |
| >0.0–959.9 | 29.0 (27.8–30.3) | 5.4 (4.7–6.0) | 6.9 (6.2–7.6) | 1.6 (1.2–1.9) | 6.6 (5.9–7.3) |
| 960.0–3054.9 | 21.9 (21.2–22.6) | 4.0 (3.7–4.4) | 4.5 (4.2–4.9) | 1.1 (1.0–1.3) | 5.2 (4.8–5.6) |
| 3055.0–7299.9 | 10.2 (9.7–10.7) | 1.8 (1.5–2.0) | 2.1 (1.9–2.4) | 0.5 (0.4–0.6) | 1.8 (1.6–2.1) |
| ≥7300.0 | 7.4 (6.0–8.9) | 0.6 (0.2–1.0) | 1.2 (0.7–1.8) | 0.4 (0.1–0.8) | 1.4 (0.8–2.0) |
| At 5 years | 54.7 (54.1–55.2) | 11.6 (11.2–12.0) | 13.1 (12.7–13.5) | 2.8 (2.6–3.0) | 13.7 (13.3–14.1) |
| Current daily dose, mg | |||||
| Nonuse | 42.1 (41.3–42.9) | 7.6 (7.2–7.9) | 8.8 (8.4–9.2) | 1.9 (1.7–2.1) | 9.4 (8.9–9.8) |
| >0.0–4.9 | 65.0 (63.6–66.4) | 17.0 (15.8–18.1) | 17.7 (16.4–18.8) | 3.3 (2.7–3.8) | 18.5 (17.3–19.7) |
| 5.0–14.9 | 69.8 (68.7–71.0) | 17.6 (16.6–18.6) | 20.3 (19.2–21.4) | 4.5 (4.0–5.1) | 20.5 (19.4–21.6) |
| 15.0–24.9 | 77.9 (75.4–80.1) | 23.7 (20.8–26.5) | 24.6 (21.8–27.4) | 6.4 (4.8–8.0) | 27.7 (24.6–30.7) |
| ≥25.0 | 81.5 (78.2–84.3) | 28.4 (24.0–32.5) | 27.5 (23.1–31.6) | 7.2 (4.6–9.7) | 26.7 (22.6–30.5) |
| Cumulative dose in last year, mg | |||||
| Nonuse | 32.6 (31.8–33.3) | 4.9 (4.6–5.2) | 5.9 (5.6–6.2) | 1.1 (1.0–1.3) | 6.3 (5.9–6.6) |
| >0.0–959.9 | 74.9 (73.3–76.3) | 24.0 (22.1–25.8) | 26.1 (24.2–27.9) | 5.4 (4.5–6.4) | 26.7 (24.9–28.5) |
| 960.0–3054.9 | 84.5 (83.4–85.4) | 33.1 (31.2–35.0) | 35.0 (33.1–36.9) | 9.2 (7.9–10.4) | 36.9 (35.0–38.8) |
| ≥3055.0 | 92.7 (91.0–94.0) | 50.3 (45.5–54.8) | 47.7 (43.0–52.1) | 13.4 (9.9–16.7) | 45.2 (40.6–49.5) |
| Total cumulative dose, mg | |||||
| Nonuse | 58.7 (57.1–60.2) | 12.3 (11.2–13.4) | 14.3 (13.2–15.5) | 3.4 (2.8–4.0) | 15.6 (14.3–16.8) |
| >0.0–959.9 | 62.4 (60.8–64.0) | 14.2 (13.0–15.4) | 17.2 (15.9–18.5) | 3.9 (3.2–4.5) | 17.3 (16.0–18.6) |
| 960.0–3054.9 | 61.7 (60.5–62.8) | 14.5 (13.7–15.4) | 16.1 (15.1–17.0) | 3.6 (3.1–4.1) | 18.0 (17.1–19.0) |
| 3055.0–7299.9 | 55.2 (54.1–56.2) | 11.9 (11.2–12.6) | 13.7 (13.0–14.4) | 2.8 (2.4–3.1) | 13.8 (13.0–14.5) |
| ≥7300.0 | 36.1 (34.8–37.3) | 7.2 (6.6–7.8) | 7.4 (6.8–8.0) | 1.4 (1.2–1.7) | 7.5 (6.9–8.1) |
| At 10 years | 76.9 (76.2–77.5) | 21.0 (20.4–21.7) | 21.2 (20.6–21.8) | 4.2 (4.0–4.5) | 21.2 (20.6–21.8) |
| Current daily dose, mg | |||||
| Nonuse | 68.0 (67.1–68.9) | 15.6 (15.0–16.3) | 15.9 (15.2–16.6) | 3.0 (2.7–3.3) | 16.2 (15.6–16.9) |
| >0.0–4.9 | 84.4 (82.9–85.8) | 29.2 (27.2–31.1) | 27.9 (26.0–29.8) | 5.3 (4.4–6.2) | 28.6 (26.6–30.4) |
| 5.0–14.9 | 88.7 (87.6–89.7) | 30.6 (28.8–32.4) | 30.9 (29.2–32.6) | 6.8 (5.8–7.8) | 29.4 (27.8–31.1) |
| 15.0–24.9 | 92.3 (89.9–94.2) | 35.9 (31.2–40.2) | 38.2 (33.2–42.8) | 9.6 (6.7–12.5) | 36.1 (31.8–40.1) |
| ≥25.0 | 93.1 (90.1–95.2) | 45.5 (37.9–52.2) | 39.4 (32.5–45.5) | 11.6 (7.0–15.9) | 36.9 (30.6–42.6) |
| Cumulative dose in last year, mg | |||||
| Nonuse | 62.5 (61.5–63.5) | 12.8 (12.1–13.4) | 13.1 (12.5–13.7) | 2.3 (2.0–2.5) | 13.3 (12.7–13.9) |
| >0.0–959.9 | 88.7 (87.1–90.1) | 33.1 (30.4–35.7) | 33.1 (30.4–35.7) | 6.7 (5.4–7.9) | 32.9 (30.4–35.4) |
| 960.0–3054.9 | 93.1 (92.0–94.0) | 41.8 (39.0–44.4) | 40.5 (37.8–43.1) | 10.4 (8.6–2.2) | 37.8 (35.5–40.1) |
| ≥3055.0 | 97.2 (95.7–98.2) | 54.4 (48.4–59.7) | 50.7 (43.9–56.7) | 10.7 (6.5–14.6) | 47.0 (40.6–52.7) |
| Total cumulative dose, mg | |||||
| Nonuse | 79.3 (77.5–80.9) | 22.3 (20.3–24.2) | 23.4 (21.5–25.2) | 5.2 (4.2–6.2) | 23.2 (21.4–25.0) |
| >0.0–959.9 | 82.2 (80.4–83.8) | 22.6 (20.7–24.5) | 25.8 (23.8–27.8) | 5.8 (4.7–6.8) | 26.2 (24.2–28.1) |
| 960.0–3054.9 | 81.3 (80.0–82.5) | 24.2 (22.7–25.6) | 23.7 (22.3–25.1) | 5.2 (4.5–5.9) | 26.0 (24.6–27.4) |
| 3055.0–7299.9 | 76.0 (74.8–77.2) | 21.0 (19.8–22.1) | 21.6 (20.4–22.7) | 4.0 (3.5–4.6) | 21.5 (20.4–22.7) |
| ≥7300.0 | 67.4 (65.9–68.8) | 17.4 (16.3–18.4) | 16.1 (15.1–17.1) | 2.9 (2.5–3.3) | 14.8 (13.8–15.8) |
Note: CI = confidence interval.
↵* Unless stated otherwise.