Table 1.
Characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (overall), cohort 2 [SUS-exclusive—individuals with full public health coverage (SUS)] and cohort 3 (SUS+ private—individuals dependent on SUS only for prescription drug coverage).
| SUS-exclusive (Cohort 2), N = 154,866 | SUS+ private (Cohort 3), N = 95,385 | Overall (Cohort 1), N = 205,251 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age*, years, mean (SD) | 58.1 (14.9) | 58.7 (14.9) | 58.4 (15.3) |
| Gender, N (%) | |||
| Female | 130,836 (84.5) | 76,342 (80.0) | 207,178 (82.8) |
| Male | 24,030 (15.5) | 19,043 (20.0) | 43,073 (17.2) |
| Ethnicity, N (%) | |||
| White | 83,828 (58.6) | 20,464 (54.2) | 104,292 (57.7) |
| Mixed | 43,981 (30.7) | 13,477 (35.7) | 57,458 (31.8) |
| Black | 7058 (4.9) | 1210 (3.2) | 8268 (4.6) |
| Indigenous | 84 (0.1) | 15 (0) | 99 (0.1) |
| Asian | 8096 (5.7) | 2604 (6.9) | 10,700 (5.9) |
| Missing | 11,819 (7.6) | 57,615 (60.4) | 69,434 (27.7) |
| Residence, N (%) | |||
| Southeast | 78,399 (51.5) | 51,355 (55.2) | 129,754 (52.9) |
| South | 34,673 (22.8) | 18,911 (20.3) | 53,584 (21.9) |
| Northeast | 26,586 (17.5) | 15,416 (16.6) | 42,002 (17.1) |
| Central West | 6413 (4.2) | 4760 (5.1) | 1,1173 (4.6) |
| North | 6039 (4.0) | 2661 (2.9) | 8700 (3.5) |
| Missing | 2756 (1.8) | 2282 (2.4) | 5038 (2.0) |
| Follow-up time**, years | |||
| Median (IQR) | 3.3 (1.6–6) | 3.6 (1.7–6.8) | 3.4 (1.6–6.3) |
| b/tsDMARD at index date | |||
| Adalimumab | 25,689 (38) | 21,121(42) | 46,810 (40) |
| Certolizumab | 4084 (6) | 2324 (5) | 6408 (5) |
| Etanercept | 17,897 (26) | 14,213 (28) | 32,110 (27) |
| Golimumab | 4940 (7) | 3687 (7) | 8627 (7) |
| Infliximab | 7039 (10) | 4567 (9) | 11,606 (10) |
| Abatacept | 2167 (3) | 1081 (2) | 3248 (3) |
| Rituximab | 1875 (3) | 956 (2) | 2831 (2) |
| Tocilizumab | 2268 (3) | 1208 (2) | 3476 (3) |
| Tofacitinib | 1630 (2) | 1382 (2) | 3012 (3) |
The index date was defined as the date of the first RA ICD-10 and DMARD prescription in the public health system during the study period.
Residence: regional localization of primary home address, IQR interquartile range, N number of patients, SD standard deviation, SUS Sistema Único de Saúde, SUS-exclusive: comprehensive public health system for the entire population, SUS+ private: only relying on SUS for medication.
*Age at index date (treatment initiation).
**Since index date.