Table 4

Associations between digoxin treatment and incident breast cancer

Exposure categories

Cases (n = 5,565)

Controls (n = 55,650)

Unadjusted OR (95% CI)

Adjusteda OR (95% CI)


Ever/never prescribed digoxin:

Ever user

324

2,546

1.29 (1.14 to 1.45)

1.30 (1.14 to 1.48)

Never user

5,241

53,104

1.0 (Ref)

1.0 (Ref)

Duration of digoxin therapy:b

7 to 18 years

93

694

1.35 (1.10 to 1.69)

1.39 (1.10 to 1.74)

4 to 6 years

103

811

1.29 (1.05 to 1.58)

1.30 (1.05 to 1.61)

1 to 3 years

128

1,041

1.25 (1.03 to 1.50)

1.25 (1.03 to 1.52)

Never user

5,241

53,104

1.0 (Ref)

1.0 (Ref)

Ever/never prescribed digoxin (alternate reference group):

(n = 732)

(n = 7,086)

Ever user

324

2,546

1.42 (1.21 to 1.65)

1.42 (1.14 to 1.77)

Never userc

408

4,540

1.0 (Ref)

1.0 (Ref)


aAdjusted for age (continuous), county of residence (categorical), and past receipt of hormone replacement therapy, anticoagulants, high- and low-dose aspirin, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (ever/never); byears elapsed between first digoxin prescription and index date (approximate tertiles of the distribution); cthe alternate reference group is additionally defined by a history of myocardial infarction, peripheral vascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, or any combination thereof. See text for rationale.

CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio.

Ahern et al. Breast Cancer Research 2008 10:R102   doi:10.1186/bcr2205

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