title: Potential of prescription registries to capture individual-level use of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in Denmark: trends in utilization 1999-2012.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Due to over-the-counter availability, no consensus exists on whether adequate information on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use can be obtained from prescription registries.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine utilization of aspirin and nonaspirin NSAIDs in Denmark between 1999 and 2012 and to quantify the proportion of total sales that was sold on prescription.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on nationwide data from the Danish Serum Institute and the Danish National Prescription Registry, we retrieved sales statistics for the Danish primary health care sector to calculate 1-year prevalences of prescription users of aspirin or nonaspirin NSAIDs, and to estimate the corresponding proportions of total sales dispensed on prescription.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both low-dose aspirin and nonaspirin NSAIDs were commonly used in the Danish population between 1999 and 2012, particularly among elderly individuals. The 1-year prevalence of prescribed low-dose aspirin increased throughout the study period, notably among men. Nonaspirin NSAID use was frequent in all age groups above 15 years and showed a female preponderance. Overall, the prevalence of prescribed nonaspirin NSAIDs decreased moderately after 2004, but substantial variation according to NSAID subtype was observed; ibuprofen use increased, use of all newer selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors nearly ceased after 2004, diclofenac use decreased by nearly 50% after 2008, and naproxen use remained stable. As of 2012, the prescribed proportion of individual-level NSAID sales was 92% for low-dose aspirin, 66% for ibuprofen, and 100% for all other NSAIDs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The potential for identifying NSAID use from prescription registries in Denmark is high. Low-dose aspirin and nonaspirin NSAID use varied substantially between 1999 and 2012. Notably, use of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors nearly ceased, use of diclofenac decreased markedly, and naproxen use remained unaltered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Morten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jesper
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hallas
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark ; Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Søren
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Friis
keywords: NSAID; drug utilization; over-the-counter; registries