Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of synthetic DMARD–treated and TNFi‐treated patientsa
| Patients receiving synthetic DMARDs (n = 3,271) | Patients receiving TNFi (n = 11,642) | |
|---|---|---|
| Age, mean ± SD years | 59.9 ± 12.3 | 56.0 ± 12.2 |
| Sex, % female | 73.5 | 76.5 |
| DAS28, mean ± SD | 5.3 ± 1.1 | 6.6 ± 1.0 |
| Disease duration, median (IQR) years | 6 (1–15) | 11 (6–19) |
| HAQ score, mean ± SD | 1.5 ± 0.7 | 2.0 ± 0.6 |
| Patients exposed to ≥4 synthetic DMARDs, % | 21.1 | 52.0 |
| Recruited before June 30, 2004, % | 19.2 | 51.7 |
| Hypertension, % | 31.2 | 29.5 |
| Diabetes, % | 6.6 | 5.6 |
| Angina/MI, % | 9.3 | 5.5 |
| Chronic lung disease, % | 19.2 | 13.5 |
| Current/previous smoker, % | 63.0 | 59.5 |
| Glucocorticoid treatment, % | 22.4 | 44.2 |
| Antiinflammatory treatment (NSAIDs and/or COX‐2 inhibitors), % | 55.3 | 62.7 |
| Antiplatelet treatment, % | 11.3 | 6.8 |
| Statin treatment, % | 12.8 | 7.1 |
| Digoxin/warfarin treatment, % | 2.1 | 1.7 |
a
DMARD = disease‐modifying antirheumatic drug; TNFi = tumor necrosis factor inhibitor; DAS28 = Disease Activity Score in 28 joints; IQR = interquartile range; HAQ = Health Assessment Questionnaire; MI = myocardial infarction; NSAIDs = nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs; COX‐2 = cyclooxygenase 2.