Table 1.
Characteristics of patients initiating treatment with abatacept vs with other biologic DMARDs
| Abatacept | Other bDMARDs | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of patients | 4328 | 59 860 |
| Age at cohort entry, years, mean (s.d.) | 55.8 (12.9) | 52.2 (12.9) |
| 18–39 | 448 (10.4) | 9812 (16.4) |
| 40–49 | 787 (18.2) | 13 086 (21.9) |
| 50–59 | 1437 (33.2) | 20 159 (33.7) |
| 60–69 | 1035 (23.9) | 11 954 (20.0) |
| 70–79 | 483 (11.2) | 3679 (6.1) |
| 80+ | 138 (3.2) | 1170 (2.0) |
| Women, n (%) | 3613 (83.5) | 45 815 (76.5) |
| Cohort entry year, n (%) | ||
| 2007 | 598 (13.8) | 6942 (11.6) |
| 2008 | 518 (12.0) | 7959 (13.3) |
| 2009 | 550 (12.7) | 8338 (13.9) |
| 2010 | 484 (11.2) | 7664 (12.8) |
| 2011 | 563 (13.0) | 8565 (14.3) |
| 2012 | 709 (16.4) | 8178 (13.7) |
| 2013 | 588 (13.6) | 7684 (12.8) |
| 2014 | 318 (7.3) | 4530 (7.6) |
| Medications at cohort entry, n (%) | ||
| DMARDs | ||
| Abatacept | 4328 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Adalimumab | 0 (0.0) | 19 048 (31.8) |
| Anakinra | 0 (0.0) | 225 (0.4) |
| Certolizumab | 0 (0.0) | 1388 (2.3) |
| Etanercept | 0 (0.0) | 24 437 (40.8) |
| Golimumab | 0 (0.0) | 1571 (2.6) |
| Infliximab | 0 (0.0) | 8306 (13.9) |
| Rituximab | 0 (0.0) | 3646 (6.1) |
| Tocilizumab | 0 (0.0) | 740 (1.2) |
| Tofacitinib | 0 (0.0) | 499 (0.8) |
| MTX | 105 (2.4) | 2318 (3.9) |
| Other csDMARDs | 50 (1.2) | 930 (1.6) |
| Comorbidities at baseline, n (%) | ||
| Hypertension | 1405 (32.5) | 15 729 (26.3) |
| Type 2 diabetes | 587 (13.6) | 6581 (11.0) |
| Asthma | 279 (6.4) | 3186 (5.3) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 294 (6.8) | 3169 (5.3) |
| Chronic kidney disease | 97 (2.2) | 1024 (1.7) |
| Leukopaenia | 30 (0.7) | 299 (0.5) |
| Neutropaenia | 18 (0.4) | 195 (0.3) |
| Peripheral arterial disease | 54 (1.2) | 548 (0.9) |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 891 (20.6) | 11 524 (19.3) |
| Cardiovascular disease | 1076 (24.9) | 10 837 (18.1) |
| Autoimmune disease (excluding RA) | 771 (17.8) | 10 875 (18.2) |
| Hospitalized infection | 118 (2.7) | 985 (1.6) |
| Medications at baseline, n (%) | ||
| MTXa | 2116 (48.9) | 33 699 (56.3) |
| Other csDMARDsa | 1709 (39.5) | 20 652 (34.5) |
| Parenteral antibiotics | 208 (4.8) | 2423 (4.0) |
| Oral corticosteroids | 2506 (57.9) | 33 154 (55.4) |
| Other corticosteroids | 1167 (27.0) | 14 762 (24.7) |
| NSAIDs | 1767 (40.8) | 27 044 (45.2) |
| Cholesterol-lowering medication | 954 (22.0) | 11 747 (19.6) |
a
Not including prescription on cohort entry day. bDMARD: biologic DMARD; csDMARD: conventional synthetic DMARD.