Patient characteristics.
| Characteristics | MTX Initiators | TNF Initiators | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RA, n = 26,708 | PsA, n = 2939 | AS, n = 1880 | RA, n = 24,134 | PsA, n = 6705 | AS, n = 3812 | |
| Age, yrs, mean (SD) | 56.8 (14.2) | 52.3 (13.1) | 53.9 (14.30) | 52.7 (13.1) | 48.9 (12.2) | 45.9 (12.9) |
| Female, n (%) | 19,921 (74.6) | 1575 (53.6) | 1285 (68.4) | 18,240 (75.6) | 3388 (50.5) | 1825 (47.9) |
| Previous csDMARD, n (%) | 10,459 (39.2) | 744 (25.3) | 687 (36.5) | 20,160 (83.5) | 4498 (67.1) | 1839 (48.2) |
| Treatments past 90 days, n (%) | ||||||
| MTX | N/A | N/A | N/A | 12,799 (53.0) | 2768 (41.3) | 766 (20.1) |
| Sulfasalazine | 1716 (6.4) | 357 (12.1) | 238 (12.7) | 1739 (7.2) | 451 (6.7) | 470 (12.3) |
| HCQ | 5996 (22.5) | 125 (4.3) | 244 (13.0) | 4319 (17.9) | 206 (3.1) | 204 (5.4) |
| Leflunomide | 744 (2.8) | 44 (1.5) | 21 (1.1) | 2686 (11.1) | 274 (4.1) | 106 (2.8) |
| Glucocorticoids | 11,423 (42.8) | 641 (21.8) | 663 (35.3) | 11,020 (45.7) | 1535 (22.9) | 1065 (27.9) |
| NSAID | 8679 (32.5) | 988 (33.6) | 655 (34.8) | 7064 (29.3) | 2022 (30.2) | 1365 (35.8) |
| Opiates | 7917 (29.6) | 657 (22.4) | 817 (43.5) | 7390 (30.6) | 1611 (24.0) | 1435 (37.6) |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | ||||||
| Diabetes | 3867 (14.5) | 412 (14.0) | 280 (14.9) | 2896 (12.0) | 852 (12.7) | 324 (8.5) |
| Cancer | 1438 (5.4) | 137 (4.7) | 90 (4.8) | 835 (3.5) | 188 (2.8) | 98 (2.6) |
| Kidney disease | 1780 (6.7) | 139 (4.7) | 141 (7.5) | 1171 (4.9) | 275 (4.1) | 179 (4.7) |
| COPD/asthma | 4184 (15.7) | 299 (10.2) | 334 (17.8) | 3396 (14.1) | 619 (9.2) | 457 (12.0) |
| CHF | 1263 (4.7) | 81 (2.8) | 92 (4.9) | 723 (3.0) | 123 (1.8) | 81 (2.1) |
| CAD | 2951 (11.0) | 249 (8.5) | 206 (11.0) | 1926 (8.0) | 431 (6.4) | 224 (5.9) |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 969 (3.6) | 55 (1.9) | 89 (4.7) | 601 (2.5) | 95 (1.4) | 73 (1.9) |
| Liver disease | 854 (3.2) | 110 (3.7) | 126 (6.7) | 978 (4.1) | 380 (5.7) | 186 (4.9) |
| Obesity | 1813 (6.8) | 222 (7.6) | 162 (8.6) | 1502 (6.2) | 523 (7.8) | 255 (6.7) |
| Depression | 3460 (13.0) | 357 (12.1) | 416 (22.1) | 3145 (13.0) | 845 (12.6) | 616 (16.2) |
| Anxiety | 2216 (8.3) | 242 (8.2) | 257 (13.7) | 1824 (7.6) | 584 (8.7) | 399 (10.5) |
| Bipolar disorder | 181 (0.7) | 19 (0.6) | 34 (1.8) | 131 (0.5) | 62 (0.9) | 38 (1.0) |
| Chronic pain | 5795 (21.7) | 447 (15.2) | 698 (37.1) | 4576 (19.0) | 1082 (16.1) | 1025 (26.9) |
| Peptic ulcer disease | 465 (1.7) | 38 (1.3) | 43 (2.3) | 437 (1.8) | 76 (1.1) | 77 (2.0) |
| IBD | 290 (1.1) | 21 (0.7) | 71 (3.8) | 630 (2.6) | 78 (1.2) | 427 (11.2) |
| Charlson score | 1 [0–3] | 0 [0–2] | 1 [0–3] | 0 [0–2] | 0 [0–2] | 0 [0–2] |
| Hospitalizations, n (%) | ||||||
| None | 22,046 (82.5) | 2564 (87.2) | 1472 (78.3) | 20,350 (84.3) | 5866 (87.5) | 3185 (83.6) |
| 1 | 3255 (12.2) | 276 (9.4) | 283 (15.1) | 2741 (11.4) | 652 (9.7) | 437 (11.5) |
| > 1 | 1407 (5.3) | 99 (3.4) | 125 (6.6) | 1043 (4.3) | 187 (2.8) | 190 (5.0) |
| Psychiatric visits | 1160 (4.3) | 151 (5.1) | 157 (8.4) | 1073 (4.4) | 336 (5.0) | 270 (7.1) |
MTX: methotrexate; TNF: tumor necrosis factor; RA: rheumatoid arthritis; PsA: psoriatic arthritis; AS: ankylosing spondylitis; csDMARD: conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; HCQ: hydroxychloroquine; N/A: not available; NSAID: nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CHF: congestive heart failure; CAD: coronary artery disease; IBD: inflammatory bowel disease.