Baseline characteristics after propensity weighting
| Characteristic | Corticosteroids | No corticosteroids | SMD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects | 1147.93 | 740.15 | ||
| Age at admission, years | 58.52±11.89 | 58.50±12.60 | 0.002 | |
| Sex | Male | 741.6 (64.6) | 479.2 (64.7) | 0.003 |
| Female | 406.3 (35.4) | 261.0 (35.3) | ||
| Ethnicity | White | 862.8 (75.2) | 558.3 (75.4) | 0.008 |
| South Asian | 118.2 (10.3) | 76.2 (10.3) | ||
| Black | 83.5 (7.3) | 53.4 (7.2) | ||
| Other | 83.4 (7.3) | 52.3 (7.1) | ||
| IMD quintile | 1 – most deprived | 262.4 (22.9) | 169.1 (22.9) | 0.008 |
| 2 | 269.6 (23.5) | 172.6 (23.3) | ||
| 3 | 202.5 (17.6) | 132.8 (17.9) | ||
| 4 | 196.2 (17.1) | 126.6 (17.1) | ||
| 5 – least deprived | 217.1 (18.9) | 139.0 (18.8) | ||
| Obesity | Yes – BMI ≥30 kg·m−2 | 683.3 (59.5) | 440.1 (59.5) | 0.001 |
| No – BMI <30 kg·m−2 | 464.6 (40.5) | 300.0 (40.5) | ||
| Smoking status | Never | 642.7 (56.0) | 412.0 (55.7) | 0.007 |
| Ex-smoker | 484.6 (42.2) | 314.3 (42.5) | ||
| Current smoker | 20.7 (1.8) | 13.8 (1.9) | ||
| Number of comorbidities | 1.48±1.37 | 1.49±1.40 | 0.005 | |
| Number of comorbidities | No comorbidity | 342.2 (29.8) | 222.1 (30.0) | 0.013 |
| 1 comorbidity | 308.5 (26.9) | 202.2 (27.3) | ||
| 2+ comorbidities | 497.2 (43.3) | 315.8 (42.7) | ||
| Cardiovascular comorbidities | Yes | 562.6 (49.0) | 361.6 (48.9) | 0.003 |
| No | 585.4 (51.0) | 378.6 (51.1) | ||
| Metabolic/endocrine/renal comorbidities | Yes | 314.7 (27.4) | 198.8 (26.9) | 0.012 |
| No | 833.2 (72.6) | 541.4 (73.1) | ||
| Respiratory comorbidities | Yes | 292.3 (25.5) | 190.1 (25.7) | 0.005 |
| No | 855.6 (74.5) | 550.1 (74.3) | ||
| Type 2 diabetes | Yes | 238.5 (20.8) | 151.4 (20.5) | 0.008 |
| No | 909.4 (79.2) | 588.8 (79.5) | ||
| Neurological/psychiatric comorbidities | Yes | 52.1 (4.5) | 31.8 (4.3) | 0.012 |
| No | 1095.8 (95.5) | 708.4 (95.7) | ||
| WHO clinical progression scale status | WHO scale 5 | 603.3 (52.6) | 388.1 (52.4) | 0.002 |
| WHO scale 6 | 335.0 (29.2) | 216.3 (29.2) | ||
| WHO scale 7–9 | 209.6 (18.3) | 135.7 (18.3) |
Data are n, n (%) or mean±sd. Percentages are calculated by category after exclusion of missing data for that variable. BMI: body mass index; IMD: index of multiple deprivation; SMD: standardised mean difference; WHO: World Health Organization.