Table 1.
Demographics, pharmacological treatment, and ankylosing spondylitis (AS)-related clinical manifestations in patients with an ankylosing spondylitis diagnosis in the National Patient Register (1967 to 2009) according to the base case and strict case definitions
| Base case definition | Strict case definition | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | Total | Total | ||
| (N = 7,041) | (N = 3,989) | (N = 11,030) | (N = 8,538) | ||
| Demographics | Mean (SD) | P -value | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | |
| Age at diagnosis registration | 38.6 (11.4) | 38.6 (11.3) | 0.907 | 38.6 (11.4) | 39.1 (11.0) |
| Age on 31 December 2009 | 48.6 (11.2) | 47.6 (11.5) | <0.001 | 48.3 (11.3) | 48.5 (10.9) |
| Pharmacological treatment during 2009 † | N (% of total) | P -value ††† | N (% of total) | ||
| NSAIDs | 3,724 (52.9) | 2,164 (54.2) | 0.169 | 5,888 (53.4) | 4,736 (55.5) |
| Oral corticosteroids | 734 (10.4) | 557 (14.0) | <0.001 | 1,291 (11.7) | 1,078 (12.6) |
| sDMARDs | 1,406 (20.0) | 841 (21.1) | 0.163 | 2,247 (20.4) | 1,937 (22.7) |
| TNFi | 1,100 (15.6) | 471 (11.8) | <0.001 | 1,571 (14.2) | 1,442 (16.9) |
| Any pharmacological treatment | 4,634 (65.8) | 2,653 (66.5) | 0.460 | 7,287 (66.1) | 5,974 (70.0) |
| AS-related clinical manifestations (1967–2009) †† | N (% of total) | P -value | N (% of total) | ||
| Anterior uveitis | 1,797 (25.5) | 797 (20.0) | <0.001 | 2,594 (23.5) | 2,109 (24.7) |
| Psoriasis | 486 (6.9) | 320 (8.0) | 0.030 | 806 (7.3) | 669 (7.8) |
| IBD | 571 (8.1) | 343 (8.6) | 0.371 | 914 (8.3) | 746 (8.7) |
| Peripheral arthritis | 1,079 (15.3) | 864 (21.7) | <0.001 | 1,943 (17.6) | 1,568 (18.4) |
| Hip arthroplasty | 527 (7.5) | 319 (8.0) | 0.331 | 846 (7.7) | 658 (7.7) |
Synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (sDMARDs): methotrexate, sulfasalazine, and leflunomide (according to Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) codes in the prescribed drugs register). Any pharmacological treatment: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), oral corticosteroids, or sDMARDs (according to ATC codes in the prescribed drugs register), or tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) (according to the Anti-Rheumatic Therapy in Sweden Register (ARTIS)). IBD: inflammatory bowel disease (according to International Classification of Disease (ICD) codes in the National Patient Register (NPR)). Peripheral arthritis: psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, polyarthritis, or any type of arthritis (according to ICD codes in the NPR). †At least one dispensed prescription during 2009 according to the Swedish prescribed drugs register or listed in ARTIS as receiving TNF-α medication during 2009. ††At least one diagnosis registered in the NPR between 1967 and 2009. †††Adjusted for age and a registered diagnosis of anterior uveitis, psoriasis, IBD, or peripheral arthritis. SD, standard deviation.