Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of participants. Values are numbers (percentages) of participants unless stated otherwise
| Characteristics | Unweighted cohort | Weighted cohort | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rituximab (n=1614) | Abatacept (n=610) | Tocilizumab (n=938) | Rituximab (n=1548) | Abatacept (n=620) | Tocilizumab (n=964) | |||
| Mean (SD) age (years) | 58.0 (12.7) | 59.7 (13.8) | 56.5 (13.9) | 58.1 (12.9) | 57.3 (14.1) | 57.9 (14.1) | ||
| Median (interquartile range) disease duration (years) | 11.0 (6.0-18.0) | 11.0 (5.0-19.0) | 8.0 (3.0-16.0) | 10.0 (5.0-18.0) | 11.0 (5.0-18.0) | 12.0 (5.0-21.0) | ||
| Women | 1287 (79.7) | 478 (78.4) | 741 (79.0) | 1243 (80.3) | 491 (79.2) | 765 (79.4) | ||
| Past serious or recurrent infection | 565 (35.0) | 206 (33.8) | 112 (11.9) | 446 (28.8) | 171 (27.6) | 305 (31.6) | ||
| History of cancer | 232 (14.4) | 32 (5.3) | 39 (4.2) | 158 (10.2) | 55 (8.9) | 69 (7.1) | ||
| Rheumatoid factor positive | 1237 (80.5) | 412 (75.0) | 627 (79.8) | 1154 (79.0) | 448 (80.0) | 665 (77.5) | ||
| Anti-CCP antibody positive | 1074 (77.0) | 382 (74.3) | 631 (82.8) | 1023 (76.4) | 1023 (76.4) | 1023 (76.4) | ||
| Median No (interquartile range) of previous anti-TNF agents | 2.0 (1.0-2.0) | 2.0 (1.0-2.0) | 1.0 (0.0-2.0) | 2.0 (1.0-2.0) | 2.0 (1.0-2.0) | 2.0 (1.0-2.0) | ||
| Median No (interquartile range) of conventional DMARDs | 3.0 (2.0-4.0) | 2.0 (1.0-4.0) | 2.0 (1.0-3.0) | 3.0 (2.0-4.0) | 3.0 (2.0-4.0) | 2.0 (1.0-4.0) | ||
| Median No (interquartile range) of tender joints | 9.0 (5.0-15.0) | 8.0 (3.0-15.0) | 7.0 (3.0-13.0) | 8.0 (4.0-15.0) | 8.0 (3.0-14.0) | 8.0 (4.0-12.0) | ||
| Median No (interquartile range) of swollen joints | 6.0 (3.0-10.0) | 5.0 (2.0-9.0) | 5.0 (2.0-8.0) | 6.0 (3.0-10.0) | 6.0 (2.0-10.0) | 5.0 (2.0-10.0) | ||
| Median (interquartile range) ESR | 32.0 (17.0-51.0) | 28.0 (15.0-50.0) | 27.0 (13.0-48.0) | 31.0 (16.0-50.0) | 29.0 (16.0-45.0) | 28.0 (15.0-47.0) | ||
| Median (interquartile range) CRP level | 16.0 (5.6-38.0) | 13.0 (4.8-28.5) | 12.5 (4.0-32.0) | 13.0 (5.0-36.0) | 13.9 (5.0-28.0) | 15.0 (5.0-37.0) | ||
| Mean (SD) patient global assessment of disease activity (range 0-100) | 61.5 (22.0) | 59.7 (22.8) | 57.8 (24.7) | 60.4 (22.3) | 62.9 (21.9) | 57.0 (26.4) | ||
| Mean (SD) DAS28-ESR | 5.5 (1.2) | 5.2 (1.3) | 5.0 (1.4) | 5.4 (1.3) | 5.3 (1.3) | 5.3 (1.3) | ||
| Concomitant treatment with conventional DMARD | 1043 (64.9) | 401 (66.5) | 556 (59.5) | 984 (63.8) | 387 (62.9) | 585 (60.9) | ||
| Corticosteroids | 1242 (77.7) | 456 (74.4) | 623 (66.5) | 1133 (74.3) | 460 (74.9) | 684 (71.2) | ||
| Mean (SD) corticosteroids dose* (mg/d) | 11.8 (8.8) | 11.2 (8.3) | 10.3 (7.2) | 11.3 (8.3) | 11.6 (8.5) | 11.2 (7.2) | ||
CCP=cyclic citrullinated peptide; TNF=tumour necrosis factor; DMARD=disease modifying antirheumatic drug; ESR=erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP=C reactive protein; DAS28-ESR=Disease Activity Score in 28 joints-erythrocyte sedimentation rate.
Unweighted cohort, raw data; weighted cohort, pseudo-population obtained after inverse probability weighting.
*
Only concerns participants receiving corticosteroids.