. 2020 Sep 22;17(9):e1003296. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003296

Table 4. Differences in improvement of disease outcomes between type 1 (autoantibody-positive) and type 2 (autoantibody-negative) rheumatoid arthritis with enhanced treatment strategies over 25 years.

Inclusion period	DAS28-ESR, slope in first year		DAS28-ESR over time after first year		Sustained DMARD free remission		Mortality		HAQ, slope in first year		HAQ over time, after first year
Inclusion period	Relative mean difference^a	p-val	Relative mean difference^b	p-val	Hazard ratio^c	p-val	Hazard ratio^d	p-val	Relative mean difference^a	p-val	Relative mean difference^b	p-val
1993–1996	Ref^d		Ref^d		Ref		Ref		Ref^d		Ref^d
1997–2000	0.14 (−0.75; 1.04)	0.75	−0.46 (−0.94; 0.03)	0.068	1.80 (0.55; 5.92)	0.33	1.02 (0.47; 2.23)	0.96	−0.14 (−0.49; 0.21)	0.42	−0.06 (−0.30; 0.19)	0.65
2001–2005	−0.82 (−1.73; 0.08)	0.073	−0.70 (−1.18; −0.22)	0.004	2.10 (0.70; 6.28)	0.18	1.22 (0.54; 2.73)	0.64	−0.33 (−0.69; 0.03)	0.069	−0.21 (−0.46; 0.04)	0.095
2006–2010	−0.82 (−1.64; 0.00)	0.050	−0.70 (−1.14; −0.25)	0.002	2.93 (1.08; 7.90)	0.034	0.82 (0.37; 1.83)	0.63	−0.35 (−0.66; −0.05)	0.024	−0.22 (−0.44; 0.00)	0.046
2011–2016	−0.47 (−1.23; 0.29)	0.22	−0.55 (−1.04; −0.05)	0.030	2.10 (0.71; 6.22)	0.18	1.11 (0.26; 4.85)	0.89	−0.27 (−0.56; 0.02)	0.064	−0.11 (−0.35; 0.13)	0.37

Bold values indicate p-values < 0.05. The overall p-value of the interaction term in the models (e.g., the p-value for difference in improvement between the 2 subtypes over all inclusion periods) was 0.072 for DAS28-ESR slope in first year, <0.001 for DAS28-ESR over time after first year, 0.28 for sustained DMARD-free remission, 0.91 for mortality, 0.016 for HAQ slope in first year, and 0.10 for HAQ over time after first year.

^aAdditional improvement in type 1 relative to type 2. A negative number corresponds to additional change downward in type 1 relative to the reference period (e.g., more decrease in the first year with respect to the reference period). Since lower DAS28-ESR/HAQ is better, a negative number indicates more improvement in type 1.

^bAdditional improvement in type 1 relative to type 2. A negative number corresponds to additional change downward of the mean after the first year in type 1 relative to the reference period. Since lower DAS28-ESR/HAQ is better, a negative number indicates more improvement in type 1.

^cAdditional improvement in type 1 relative to type 2. A number above 1 corresponds to additional SDFR in type 1 relative to the reference period. Since more SDFR is better, a number above 1 indicates more improvement in type 1.

^dAdditional improvement in type 1 relative to type 2. A number below 1 corresponds to less mortality in type 1 relative to the reference period. Since lower mortality is better, a number below 1 indicates more improvement in type 1.

DAS28-ESR, Disease Activity Score–28 with erythrocyte sedimentation rate; DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire p-val, p-value.