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Table 1 Baseline characteristics of patients

From: Risk of incident or recurrent malignancies among patients with rheumatoid arthritis exposed to biologic therapy in the German biologics register RABBIT

 

Patients with prior malignancy

 

Patients without prior malignancy

  
 

Biologic

Control

Total

P#

Biologic

Control

Total

P#

P##

n

67

55

122

 

3279

1719

4998

  

Female n (%)

45 (67.2)

41 (74.5)

86 (70.5)

0.43

2564 (78.2)

1353 (78.7)

3917 (78.4)

0.671

0.047

Age (mean, SD)

64.0 (9.0)

63.2 (7.7)

63.7 (8.4)

0.62

53.6 (12.3)

55.9 (11.5)

54.4 (12.1)

< 0.0001

< 0.001

Disease duration (yrs), median (IQR)

10 (6, 16.5)

7 (3, 13)

9 (4, 16)

0.02

9 (5, 17)

6 (2.5, 12)

8 (4, 15)

< 0.0001

0.286

Time from prior cancer to study entry (yrs), median (IQR)

5 (2, 9)

5 (3, 11)

5 (2, 10)

0.77

     

Follow-up time (yrs), median (IQR)

2.1 (1.4, 3.0)

2.5 (1.0, 4.0)

2.1 (1.1, 3.1)

0.43

2.4 (1.4, 3.1)

2.5 (1.3, 3.3)

2.4 (1.3, 3.1)

0.081

0.611

Rheumatoid factor positive n (%)

53 (79.1)

46 (83.6)

99 (81.1)

0.64

2629 (80.2)

1225 (71.3)

3854 (77.1)

< 0.0001

0.327

DAS28 (mean, SD)

5.7 (1.3)

5.4 (1.1)

5.6 (1.2)

0.04

5.8 (1.3)

5.0 (1.3)

5.5 (1.3)

< 0.0001

0.282

ESR (mm/h), median (IQR)

38 (18, 51)

26 (15, 42)

32 (17, 50)

0.12

30 (16, 48)

22 (12, 38)

27 (14, 44)

< 0.0001

0.080

CRP (mg/L), median (IQR)

25 (10, 46)

15 (8, 30)

19 (9, 43)

0.07

17 (8, 38)

12 (5, 27)

15 (7, 34)

< 0.0001

0.146

FFbH (mean, SD)

52.1 (21.3)

59.9 (23.5)

55.7 (22.5)

0.02

57.0 (23.0)

66.8 (21.4)

60.4 (22.9)

< 0.0001

0.025

Smoking ever n (%)

23 (57.5)

15 (55.6)

38 (56.7)

1.00

878 (46.9)

473 (46.4)

1351 (46.7)

0.328

0.13

No. of previous DMARDs (mean, SD)

3.7 (1.5)

1.9 (1.0)

2.9 (1.6)

< 0.001

3.6 (1.4)

1.9 (1.1)

2.9 (1.5)

< 0.0001

0.656

COPD n (%)

3 (4.4)

6 (10.9)

9 (7.3)

0.30

163 (5)

81 (4.7)

244 (4.9)

0.685

0.205

Chronic renal disease n (%)

4 (5.9)

1 (1.8)

5 (4.1)

0.38

134 (4.1)

29 (1.7)

163 (3.3)

< 0.0001

0.603

Chronic lung disease n (%)

5 (7.4)

1 (1.8)

6 (4.9)

0.22

93 (2.8)

29 (1.7)

122 (2.4)

0.012

0.129

Chronic gastrointest. disease n (%)

12 (17.6)

5 (9.1)

17 (13.9)

0.2

281 (8.6)

138 (8.0)

419 (8.4)

0.510

0.047

  1. Values are means and standard deviations if not otherwise specified. IQR = inter quartile range; FFbH = Hannover Functional Status Questionnaire measuring functional capacity in percent of full function; DAS28: disease activity score based on 28 joint counts;
  2. # = P-value for comparison between biologic and control group within strata according to prior malignancy status, ## = comparison between strata
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Arthritis Research & Therapy

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