Table 1.
Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis patients
| All RA patients [N = 3993] | Access restrictions | p value (any vs. none) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any [n = 1364] | None [n = 2629] | |||
| Age, years (mean [SD]) | 50.1 [9.8] | 50.4 [9.6] | 50.0 [9.8] | 0.294 |
| Age group, years | ||||
| 18–34 | 360 (9.0) | 115 (8.4) | 245 (9.3) | 0.353 |
| 35–44 | 649 (16.3) | 209 (15.3) | 440 (16.7) | 0.251 |
| 45–54 | 1356 (34.0) | 479 (35.1) | 877 (33.4) | 0.266 |
| 55–64 | 1628 (40.8) | 561 (41.1) | 1067 (40.6) | 0.740 |
| Male | 889 (22.3) | 313 (22.9) | 576 (21.9) | 0.455 |
| Region | ||||
| Northeast | 484 (12.1) | 132 (9.7) | 352 (13.4) | 0.001* |
| North Central | 845 (21.2) | 192 (14.1) | 653 (24.8) | < 0.001** |
| South/unknown | 2131 (53.4) | 845 (62.0) | 1286 (48.9) | < 0.001** |
| West | 533 (13.3) | 195 (14.3) | 338 (12.9) | 0.205 |
| Urban residence | 3422 (85.7 | 1050 (77.0) | 2372 (90.2) | < 0.001** |
| EPO/PPO insurance | 2272 (56.9) | 749 (54.9) | 1523 (57.9) | 0.068 |
| DCI (mean [SD]) | 1.4 [0.8] | 1.4 [0.9] | 1.3 [0.8] | < 0.001** |
| Comorbid conditions | ||||
| Anemia | 266 (6.7) | 96 (7.0) | 170 (6.5) | 0.492 |
| Anxiety | 292 (7.3) | 108 (7.9) | 184 (7.0) | 0.290 |
| Cardiovascular disease | 233 (5.8) | 85 (6.2) | 148 (5.6) | 0.441 |
| Chronic respiratory condition | 406 (10.2) | 160 (11.7) | 246 (9.4) | 0.019* |
| Depression | 376 (9.4) | 137 (10.0) | 239 (9.1) | 0.328 |
| Diabetes (type 1 or 2) | 496 (12.4) | 206 (15.1) | 290 (11.0) | < 0.001** |
| Dyslipidemia | 571 (14.3) | 221 (16.2) | 350 (13.3) | 0.013* |
| Fibromyalgia | 464 (11.6) | 154 (11.3) | 310 (11.8) | 0.639 |
| Fragility fracture | 15 (0.4) | 7 (0.5) | 8 (0.3) | 0.306 |
| Hypertension | 1087 (27.2) | 444 (32.6) | 643 (24.5) | < 0.001** |
| Low back pain | 408 (10.2) | 147 (10.8) | 261 (9.9) | 0.401 |
| Malignancy | 111 (2.8) | 36 (2.6) | 75 (2.9) | 0.697 |
| Osteoarthritis | 924 (23.1) | 362 (26.5) | 562 (21.4) | < 0.001** |
| Osteoporosis | 172 (4.3) | 62 (4.5) | 110 (4.2) | 0.594 |
| Psoriasis | 104 (2.6) | 39 (2.9) | 65 (2.5) | 0.467 |
Data are expressed as n (%) unless otherwise specified
SD standard deviation, EPO/PPO exclusive provider organization/preferred provider organization, DCI Deyo–Charlson Comorbidity Index, RA rheumatoid arthritis, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.001