Table 1.
Characteristics of patients with RA and COPD initiating biologic or conventional synthetic DMARD
| Biologic DMARD | csDMARD | Standardized difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of subjects | 7424 | 7424 | |
| Age at cohort entry, mean (s.d.), years | 64.7 (9.3) | 66.6 (9.9) | −0.1926 |
| 50–59 | 2476 (33.4) | 2063 (27.8) | 0.1210 |
| 60–69 | 2751 (37.1) | 2579 (34.7) | 0.0483 |
| 70–79 | 1588 (21.4) | 1869 (25.2) | −0.0896 |
| 80+ | 609 (8.2) | 913 (12.3) | −0.1353 |
| Women, n (%) | 5174 (69.7) | 5202 (70.1) | −0.0082 |
| Prior DMARD use | 5083 (68.5) | 5083 (68.5) | 0.0000 |
| Comorbidities in baseline period | |||
| Hospitalization for COPD | 113 (1.5) | 108 (1.5) | 0.0056 |
| Hospitalization for other infection | 469 (6.3) | 540 (7.3) | −0.0380 |
| Any hospitalization | 1602 (21.6) | 1603 (21.6) | −0.0003 |
| Asthma | 1216 (16.4) | 1238 (16.7) | −0.0080 |
| Hypertension | 3634 (48.9) | 3925 (52.9) | −0.0785 |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 1385 (18.7) | 1483 (20.0) | −0.0334 |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 569 (7.7) | 622 (8.4) | −0.0263 |
| Chronic rheumatic heart disease | 134 (1.8) | 135 (1.8) | −0.0010 |
| Other form of heart disease | 1889 (25.4) | 2083 (28.1) | −0.0591 |
| Diabetes | 1616 (21.8) | 1610 (21.7) | 0.0020 |
| Malignancy | 717 (9.7) | 809 (10.9) | −0.0408 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 466 (6.3) | 553 (7.4) | −0.0464 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 877 (11.8) | 926 (12.5) | −0.0202 |
| Joint replacement | 415 (5.6) | 360 (4.8) | 0.0333 |
| RA medications in baseline period | |||
| Methotrexate | 3528 (47.5) | 2174 (29.3) | 0.3818 |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 1464 (19.7) | 2163 (29.1) | −0.2205 |
| Leflunomide | 1124 (15.1) | 614 (8.3) | 0.2149 |
| Sulfasalazine | 533 (7.2) | 529 (7.1) | 0.0021 |
| Auranofin | 5 (0.1) | 12 (0.2) | −0.0279 |
| Aurothioglucose | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Gold salt | 6 (0.1) | 4 (0.1) | 0.0104 |
| Other medications in baseline period | |||
| Oral corticosteroids | 4948 (66.6) | 4785 (64.5) | 0.0462 |
| Injection corticosteroids | 428 (5.8) | 362 (4.9) | 0.0396 |
| Other immunosuppressants | 305 (4.1) | 126 (1.7) | 0.1440 |
| Inhaled corticosteroids | 1618 (21.8) | 1747 (23.5) | −0.0415 |
| Long acting β2-agonist | 1421 (19.1) | 1537 (20.7) | −0.0391 |
| Long-acting muscarinic antagonist | 825 (11.1) | 909 (12.2) | −0.0352 |
| Short-acting β2-agonist | 1883 (25.4) | 2046 (27.6) | −0.0498 |
| Ipratropium | 532 (7.2) | 589 (7.9) | −0.0291 |
| Theophylline | 65 (0.9) | 78 (1.1) | −0.0179 |
| Antibiotics used in respiratory infections | 4395 (59.2) | 4369 (58.8) | 0.0071 |
| NSAIDs | 2802 (37.7) | 2738 (36.9) | 0.0178 |
| Cholesterol-lowering medication | 2678 (36.1) | 2825 (38.1) | −0.0410 |
| ACE inhibitors | 1543 (20.8) | 1650 (22.2) | −0.0351 |
| Angiotensin II receptor blockers | 1321 (17.8) | 1308 (17.6) | 0.0046 |
| Diuretics | 2674 (36.0) | 2847 (38.3) | −0.0482 |
| Calcium channel blockers | 1609 (21.7) | 1713 (23.1) | −0.0336 |
| Beta-blockers | 2188 (29.5) | 2364 (31.8) | −0.0514 |
| Insulin | 458 (6.2) | 394 (5.3) | 0.0371 |
| Oral anti-diabetics | 992 (13.4) | 975 (13.1) | 0.0068 |
| Proton-pump inhibitors | 2967 (40.0) | 2849 (38.4) | 0.0326 |
| Narcotics | 4688 (63.1) | 4391 (59.1) | 0.0821 |
| Antidepressant | 2846 (38.3) | 2694 (36.3) | 0.0423 |
| Antipsychotics | 210 (2.8) | 191 (2.6) | 0.0158 |
| Benzodiazepines | 1736 (23.4) | 1737 (23.4) | −0.0003 |
| Anticonvulsants | 1129 (15.2) | 1162 (15.7) | −0.0123 |
| Antiparkinsonian | 269 (3.6) | 302 (4.1) | −0.0231 |
ACE: angiotensin converting enzyme; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; csDMARD: conventional synthetic DMARD; n: number.