Table 1 Clinical and demographic characteristics of study cohorts at start of follow-up a
Clinical and demographic characteristics | RA patients starting TNFi (N = 7,704) | Biologic-naïve RA referents (N = 23,112) | General population referents (N=38,520) |
|---|---|---|---|
Female sex | 5,845 (76) | 17,535 (76) | 29,225 (76) |
Age, mean ± SD (yr) | 57.1 ± 12.1 | 57.3 ± 12.2 | 57.2 ± 12.2 |
RA duration >10 yr | 1,509 (19.6) | 3,864 (16.7) | |
Comorbidity, previous diagnosis | |||
Diabetes | 379 (4.9) | 1,251 (5.4) | 1,342 (3.5) |
Hypertension | 833 (10.8) | 2,689 (11.6) | 2,571 (6.7) |
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 196 (2.5) | 653 (2.8) | 450 (1.2) |
Cerebrovascular disease | 177 (2.3) | 696 (3.0) | 938 (2.4) |
Other atherosclerotic diseaseb | 505 (6.6) | 1,803 (7.8) | 1,774 (4.6) |
Infections (hospitalization) | 1,675 (21.7) | 5,287 (22.9) | 5,487 (14.2) |
Number of days in hospital within 10 years before inclusion, median (IQR) | 4 (0 to 17) | 3 (0 to 14) | 0 (0 to 5) |
Previous joint surgeryc | 1,974 (25.6) | 4,669 (20.2) | 1,392 (3.6) |
Education level attained | |||
≤9 years or less | 2,197 (28.5) | 7,062 (30.6) | 10,303 (26.8) |
10 to 12 years | 3,494 (45.4) | 10,473 (45.3) | 16,796 (43.6) |
>12 years | 1,983 (25.7) | 5,455 (23.6) | 11,182 (29.0) |
Any disability pension in year before inclusiond | 2,601 (33.8) | 7,195 (31.1) | 4,993 (13.0) |
Sick leave the year before inclusione | |||
During part of year (14 to 349 days) | 2,091 (27.1) | 5,075 (22.0) | 4,319 (11.2) |
Whole year (≥350 days) | 240 (3.1) | 596 (2.6) | 386 (1.0) |