Table 1. Baseline characteristics for 144,985 patients with and without RA, Taiwan, 2001–2011*.
| Variables | With RA, no. (%), n = 28,997† | Without RA, no. (%), n = 115,988† | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age at entry, y‡ | |||
| 18–44 | 7,495 (25.9) | 29,980 (25.9) | 1.000 |
| 45–64 | 14,865 (51.3) | 59,460 (51.3) | |
|
>65 |
6,637 (22.9) |
26,548 (22.9) |
|
| Sex | |||
| F | 22,524 (77.7) | 90,096 (77.7) | 1.000 |
| M |
6,473 (22.3) |
25,892 22.3) |
|
| Concurrent conditions | |||
| Cardiovascular disease | 8,100 (27.9) | 28,327 (24.4) | <0.0001 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 2,480 (8.6) | 9,749 (8.4) | 0.419 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 2,951 (10.2) | 8,301 (7.2) | <0.0001 |
| Liver cirrhosis | 2,451 (8.5) | 7,277 (6.3) | <0.0001 |
| COPD | 2,097 (7.2) | 8,247 (7.1) | 0.472 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 270 (0.9) | 896 (0.8) | 0.007 |
| HIV disease |
1 (0.003) |
9 (0.01) |
0.698 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index score§ | |||
| 0 | 12,653 (43.6) | 78,773 (67.9) | <0.0001 |
| 1 | 8,708 (30.0) | 20,791 (17.9) | |
| 2 | 4,381 (15.1) | 8,823 (7.6) | |
|
>3 |
3,255 (11.2) |
7,601 (6.6) |
|
| Urbanization | |||
| Urban | 17,167 (59.2) | 68,429 (59.0) | 0.668 |
| Suburban | 4,098 (14.1) | 16,622 (14.3) | |
| Rural | 7,732 (26.7) | 30,937 (26.7) |
*COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; RA, rheumatoid arthritis. †Median, mean follow-up time for patients with RA = 5.1, 5.2 ± 3.1 y and for patients without RA = 11.0, 10.3 ± 2.1 y; p<0.0001. ‡Mean (± SD) age for patients with RA = 53.9 ± 14.1 y and for patients without RA = 53.5 ± 14.9 y; p<0.0001. §Mean (± SD) index for patients with RA = 1.0 ± 1.3 and for patients without RA = 0.6 ± 1.2; p<0.0001.