Comparison of patients who were offered gastrointestinal investigation with those who were not
| No (%) of patients offered investigation | No (%) of patients not offered investigation | Adjusted odds ratio* | 95% CI | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Random effects logistic regression, adjusted for patients within practices. NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. | |||||
| Factor | (n = 217) | (n = 140) | |||
| Female sex | 123 (57) | 100 (71) | 0.49 | 0.30 to 0.80 | 0.004 |
| Aged <65 | 41 (19) | 47 (34) | 0.44 | 0.26 to 0.74 | 0.002 |
| Haemoglobin ⩾90 g/l | 97 (45) | 92 (66) | 0.38 | 0.23 to 0.61 | <0.001 |
| History of gastrointestinal complaints | 102 (47) | 78 (56) | 0.68 | 0.43 to 1.08 | 0.10 |
| History of anaemia | 46 (21) | 56 (40) | 0.39 | 0.24 to 0.64 | <0.001 |
| Use of aspirin or NSAID in previous 3 months | 74 (34) | 41 (29) | 1.33 | 0.82 to 2.17 | 0.25 |
| (n = 186) | (n = 108) | ||||
| Clinical symptoms of anaemia noted | 112 (52) | 61 (44) | 1.17 | 0.70 to 1.95 | 0.55 |
| Gastrointestinal symptoms noted | 61 (28) | 14 (10) | 3.51 | 1.78 to 6.94 | <0.001 |
| Multivariate analysis | |||||
| Female sex | – | – | 0.40 | 0.23 to 0.69 | 0.001 |
| Age <65 years | – | – | 0.48 | 0.27 to 0.85 | 0.01 |
| Haemoglobin ⩾90 g/l | – | – | 0.37 | 0.22 to 0.62 | <0.001 |
| Previous anaemia | – | – | 0.43 | 0.25 to 0.73 | 0.002 |