Table 2.
Patients characteristics
| Variables | Values |
|---|---|
| Education, no (%) | |
| None (<5 years of primary school) | 7 (1.4) |
| Primary school (5 years) | 58 (11.3) |
| Lower secondary school (3 years) | 137 (26.7) |
| Upper secondary school (4–5 years) | 210 (40.9) |
| Graduate (4–6 years) | 84 (16.4) |
| Post-graduate (≥3 years’ specialization/doctorate) | 14 (2.7) |
| Working status, no (%)a | |
| Paid work | 272 (54.4) |
| Retired | 100 (19.8) |
| Housewife | 72 (14.3) |
| Unemployed | 47 (9.3) |
| Student | 10 (2.0) |
| Unpaid work (eg, volunteer) | 3 (0.6) |
| Diagnosis, no (%) | |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 174 (33.9) |
| Psoriatic arthritis | 179 (34.9) |
| Ankylosing spondylitis | 160 (31.2) |
| Years from the appearance of first symptoms | |
| Mean (SD) | 10.8 (9.4) |
| Median (min–max) | 8.0 (0.2–50.0) |
| Years from diagnosis | |
| Mean (SD) | 8.0 (8.2) |
| Median (minb–max) | 5.0 (0–43.0) |
| Experience with biologic treatment, no (%) | |
| With experience and currently treated | 262 (51.1) |
| With experience, but currently not treated | 8 (1.5) |
| Naïve (ie, never treated before and with a new prescription) | 243 (47.4) |
| Biologic drugs used or prescribed, no (%) | |
| Abatacept | 38 (7.4) |
| Adalimumab | 105 (20.5) |
| Certolizumab | 31 (6.1) |
| Etanercept | 88 (17.2) |
| Golimumab | 90 (17.6) |
| Infliximab | 99 (19.3) |
| Rituximab | 12 (2.3) |
| Tocilizumab | 42 (8.2) |
| Ustekinumab | 6 (1.2) |
| Other (not specified) | 1 (0.2) |
| Reason for starting treatment with biologic drugs, no (%)c | |
| No effectiveness of previous treatment | 478 (93.2) |
| No tolerance to previous treatment | 60 (11.7) |
| Side effects from previous treatment | 26 (5.1) |
| Other reasons | 9 (1.8) |
| Treatment before biologic drugs, no (%)c | |
| Methotrexate | 316 (61.6) |
| ≥1 DMARD (not MTX) | 203 (39.6) |
| NSAIDs | 268 (52.2) |
| Corticosteroids | 231 (45.0) |
| Biologic drug | 102 (19.9) |
Notes:
a
The main work activity was considered, each patient was included in only one category.
b
Two patients were diagnosed <1 month before enrollment.
c
More than one reason could be reported.
Abbreviations: DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; MTX, methotrexate; NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.