Statistical analysis
Descriptive statistics of the outcome variables were calculated.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the study subjects were
expressed as numbers and percentages using frequency analysis because
they were categorical variables. Chi-square tests were used to determine
whether there was a difference among the comparison groups related to
the distribution of the dependent variable. We also performed a multiple
logistic regression analysis to investigate predictors for prescribing
GI medications for the common cold and reported the odds ratios (ORs)
and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
The factors considered were sex, age, physician specialty, region,
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) use, and the total number
of cold drugs prescribed. C-statistics and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test were
used to check the goodness-of-fit of the models. Data analysis was
performed using R statistical software (version 4.0.3; R Foundation for
Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). Statistical significance was
set at P < 0.05