Table 3.
Cox proportional hazard analysis for the risk factors of treatment discontinuation due to ineffectiveness
| Variable | HR (95% CI) | ||||
| Total | TNFi | aIL-6R | CTLA4-Ig | JAKi | |
| Switched number of bDMARDs or JAKi (naïve, second and ≥third) | 1.45 (1.26 to 1.66)*** | 1.61 (1.34 to 1.95)*** | 1.40 (1.06 to 1.87)* | 1.35 (0.94 to 1.94) | 0.87 (0.53 to 1.44) |
| Current aIL-6R treatment (vs TNFi) | 0.52 (0.46 to 0.59)*** | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. |
| Current JAKi treatment (vs TNFi) | 0.67 (0.54 to 0.83)*** | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. |
| Current CTLA4-Ig treatment (vs TNFi) | 0.74 (0.64 to 0.84)*** | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. |
| CDAI | 1.01 (1.00 to 1.02)*** | 1.01 (1.01 to 1.02)** | 1.01 (1.00 to 1.02) | 1.02 (1.01 to 1.04)** | 0.99 (0.97 to 1.02) |
| Disease duration (years) | 0.99 (0.99 to 1.00)*** | 0.99 (0.98 to 1.00)** | 0.99 (0.98 to 1.01) | 0.99 (0.98 to 1.01) | 0.98 (0.95 to 1.00)* |
| Concomitant oral GCs use (%) | 1.15 (1.04 to 1.27)** | 1.24 (1.09 to 1.41)*** | 1.17 (0.93 to 1.48) | 0.89 (0.69 to 1.14) | 0.82 (0.55 to 1.24) |
| Prior aIL-6R use (%) | 1.25 (1.06 to 1.47)** | 1.14 (0.91 to 1.44) | 1.03 (0.71 to 1.50) | 1.37 (0.90 to 2.09) | 1.95 (1.17 to 3.25)* |
| Concomitant MTX use (%) | 0.89 (0.81 to 0.97)* | 0.79 (0.70 to 0.89)*** | 0.91 (0.72 to 1.15) | 1.23 (0.97 to 1.55) | 0.98 (0.64 to 1.51) |
| Prior JAKi use (%) | 1.14 (0.86 to 1.51) | 0.88 (0.56 to 1.40) | 1.43 (0.74 to 2.77) | 1.67 (0.80 to 3.49) | 1.33 (0.76 to 2.33) |
| Concomitant other csDMARDs use (%) | 1.05 (0.94 to 1.17) | 1.18 (1.02 to 1.37)* | 0.82 (0.62 to 1.08) | 0.86 (0.67 to 1.12) | 1.35 (0.89 to 2.04) |
| Prior TNFi use (%) | 0.93 (0.78 to 1.12) | 0.82 (0.64 to 1.04) | 0.91 (0.60 to 1.36) | 1.01 (0.63 to 1.62) | 1.72 (0.92 to 3.24) |
| Sex (male) | 1.00 (0.89 to 1.13) | 1.04 (0.89 to 1.21) | 1.04 (0.76 to 1.42) | 1.02 (0.74 to 1.39) | 0.60 (0.35 to 1.04) |
| Age (years) | 1.00 (1.00 to 1.00) | 1.00 (1.00 to 1.01) | 1.00 (0.99 to 1.00) | 1.00 (0.99 to 1.01) | 0.99 (0.98 to 1.01) |
| Prior CTLA4-Ig use (%) | 0.98 (0.82 to 1.17) | 0.95 (0.74 to 1.21) | 1.10 (0.76 to 1.60) | 0.61 (0.34 to 1.17) | 1.16 (0.73 to 1.85) |
*p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001.
aIL-6R, anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibodies; bDMARDs, biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; CDAI, Clinical Disease Activity Index; csDMARDs, conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; CTLA4-Ig, cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4-Ig; GCs, glucocorticoids; JAKi, Janus kinase inhibitors; MTX, methotrexate; N.A., not applicable; TNFi, tumour necrosis factor inhibitors.