Baseline characteristics of the OAT cohort and their age- and sex-matched controls
| VARIABLE | OAT COHORT, N = 20 406 | AGE- AND SEX-MATCHED CONTROLS, N = 201 822 | STANDARDIZED DIFFERENCE* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median (IQR) age, y | 36 (29–47) | 37 (29–47) | 0.01 |
| Male sex, n (%) | 11 674 (57.2) | 114 497 (56.7) | 0.01 |
| Urban residence, n (%) | 18 191 (89.1) | 179 986 (89.2) | 0.00 |
| Income quintile, n (%) | |||
| • 1 (lowest income) | 8804 (43.1) | 78 969 (39.1) | 0.08 |
| • 2 | 4728 (23.2) | 45 267 (22.4) | 0.02 |
| • 3 | 3032 (14.9) | 32 682 (16.2) | 0.04 |
| • 4 | 2218 (10.9) | 25 547 (12.7) | 0.06 |
| • 5 (highest income) | 1502 (7.4) | 18 365 (9.1) | 0.06 |
| • Missing | 122 (0.6) | 992 (0.5) | 0.01 |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | |||
| • Diabetes | 1407 (6.9) | 29 417 (14.6) | 0.25 |
| • Congestive heart failure | 169 (0.8) | 2349 (1.2) | 0.03 |
| • Asthma | 4979 (24.4) | 44 585 (22.1) | 0.05 |
| • Acute myocardial infarction | 169 (0.8) | 2646 (1.3) | 0.05 |
| • Hypertension | 2526 (12.4) | 39 265 (19.5) | 0.19 |
| • COPD | 2410 (11.8) | 15 266 (7.6) | 0.14 |
| • Psychotic disorders | 1401 (6.9) | 24 450 (12.1) | 0.18 |
| Received methadone, n (%) | 19 367 (94.9) | NA | NA |
| Treated by a high-volume OAT prescriber, n (%) | 15 979 (78.3) | NA | NA |
| Enrolled in a medical home, n (%) | 8948 (43.8) | 147 759 (73.2) | 0.62 |
| Mean (SD) no. of physician visits in 6-mo study period | 31 (15) | 5 (6) | 2.36 |
COPD—chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, IQR—interquartile range, NA—not applicable, OAT—opioid agonist treatment.
↵* A standardized difference > 0.10 is considered to be suggestive of a meaningful difference.