Table 1.
Patient characteristics overall and according to treatment groups
| Overall (n=1090) | Rituximab group (n=63) | No rituximab group (n=1027) | No rituximab subgroup*(n=495) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 55·2 (16·4) | 59·1 (15·1) | 55·0 (16·5) | 58·5 (16·0) | ||
| 18–54 | 533 (49%) | 22 (35%) | 511 (50%) | 192 (39%) | ||
| 55–64 | 219 (20%) | 14 (22%) | 205 (20%) | 110 (22%) | ||
| 65–74 | 182 (17%) | 17 (27%) | 165 (16%) | 104 (21%) | ||
| ≥75 | 156 (14%) | 10 (16%) | 146 (14%) | 89 (18%) | ||
| Sex | ||||||
| Female | 734 (67%) | 38 (60%) | 696 (68%) | 385 (78%) | ||
| Male | 356 (33%) | 25 (40%) | 331 (32%) | 110 (22%) | ||
| Comorbidities† | ||||||
| Respiratory disease | 145/1089 (13%) | 6 (10%) | 139/1026 (14%) | 85 (17%) | ||
| Interstitial lung disease | 38/1089 (3%) | 4 (6%) | 34/1026 (3%) | 31 (6%) | ||
| COPD | 42/1089 (4%) | 1 (2%) | 41/1026 (4%) | 28 (6%) | ||
| Asthma | 72/1089 (7%) | 1 (2%) | 71/1026 (7%) | 31 (6%) | ||
| Cardiovascular disease | 131/1089 (12%) | 10 (16%) | 121/1026 (12%) | 75 (15%) | ||
| Coronary heart diseases | 108/1089 (10%) | 9 (14%) | 99/1026 (10%) | 57 (12%) | ||
| Stroke | 33/1089 (3%) | 2 (3%) | 31/1026 (3%) | 24 (5%) | ||
| Diabetes | 110/1089 (10%) | 10 (16%) | 100/1026 (10%) | 57 (12%) | ||
| Body-mass index, kg/m2 | ||||||
| <30 | 741/969 (76%) | 54/62 (87%) | 687/907 (76%) | 327/434 (75%) | ||
| 30–39 | 199/969 (21%) | 8/62 (13%) | 191/907 (21%) | 94/434 (22%) | ||
| ≥40 | 29/969 (3%) | 0 | 29/907 (3%) | 13/434 (3%) | ||
| Hypertension | 271/1089 (25%) | 16 (25%) | 255/1026 (25%) | 155 (31%) | ||
| Cancer | 44/1089 (4%) | 5 (8%) | 39/1026 (4%) | 30 (6%) | ||
| Smoking | 106/1089 (10%) | 3 (5%) | 103/1026 (10%) | 50 (10%) | ||
| Chronic renal failure | 64/1089 (6%) | 7 (11%) | 57/1026 (6%) | 41 (8%) | ||
| Patients with at least one comorbidity | 756/1089 (69%) | 48 (76%) | 708/1026 (69%) | 383 (77%) | ||
| Rheumatic disease | ||||||
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 334 (31%) | 31 (49%) | 303 (30%) | 303 (61%) | ||
| ANCA-associated vasculitis | 23 (2%) | 11 (17%) | 12 (1%) | 12 (2%) | ||
| Systemic sclerosis | 43 (4%) | 7 (11%) | 36 (4%) | 36 (7%) | ||
| Primary Sjögren syndrome | 33 (3%) | 4 (6%) | 29 (3%) | 29 (6%) | ||
| Other vasculitis | 15 (1%) | 2 (3%) | 13 (1%) | 13 (3%) | ||
| Mixed connective tissue disease | 6 (1%) | 2 (3%) | 4 (<1%) | 4 (1%) | ||
| Systemic lupus erythematosus | 80 (7%) | 2 (3%) | 78 (8%) | 78 (16%) | ||
| IgG4-related disease | 4 (<1%) | 2 (3%) | 2 (<1%) | 2 (<1%) | ||
| Inflammatory myopathy (including dermatomyositis, polymyositis) | 17 (2%) | 1 (2%) | 16 (2%) | 16 (3%) | ||
| Eye inflammation (including uveitis) | 3 (<1%) | 1 (2%) | 2 (<1%) | 2 (<1%) | ||
| Others | 532 (49%) | 0 | 532 (52%) | 0 | ||
| Treatments | ||||||
| Corticosteroids | 347 (32%) | 34 (54%) | 313 (30%) | 196 (40%) | ||
| Systemic corticosteroid doses ≥10 mg | 127/345 (37%) | 13/34 (38%) | 114/311 (37%) | 67/195 (34%) | ||
| Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs | 99 (9%) | 2 (3%) | 97 (9%) | 28 (6%) | ||
| Colchicine | 38 (3%) | 0 | 38 (4%) | 3 (1%) | ||
| Hydroxychloroquine | 98 (9%) | 3 (5%) | 95 (9%) | 89 (18%) | ||
| Methotrexate | 393 (36%) | 21 (33%) | 372 (36%) | 233 (47%) | ||
| Leflunomide | 43 (4%) | 5 (8%) | 38 (4%) | 27 (5%) | ||
| Sulfasalazine | 12 (1%) | 0 | 12 (1%) | 3 (1%) | ||
| Mycophenolate mofetil or mycophenolic acid | 28 (3%) | 1 (2%) | 27 (3%) | 25 (5%) | ||
| Azathioprine | 14 (1%) | 1 (2%) | 13 (1%) | 9 (2%) | ||
| IgIV | 7 (1%) | 0 | 7 (1%) | 7 (1%) | ||
| Targeted biological or synthetic therapies | ||||||
| Anti-TNF | 318 (29%) | 0 | 318 (31%) | 74 (15%) | ||
| Anti-IL-6 | 35 (3%) | 0 | 35 (3%) | 23 (5%) | ||
| Anti-IL-17A | 38 (3%) | 0 | 38 (4%) | 0 | ||
| Anti-IL-1 | 9 (1%) | 0 | 9 (1%) | 1 (<1%) | ||
| Abatacept | 24 (2%) | 0 | 24 (2%) | 22 (4%) | ||
| JAK inhibitor | 35 (3%) | 0 | 35 (3%) | 30 (6%) | ||
| Other biologics | 21 (2%) | 0 | 21 (2%) | 8 (2%) | ||
Data are mean (SD), n (%), or n/N (%). ANCA=antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody. COPD=chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. IL=interleukin. JAK=Janus kinase. TNF=tumour necrosis factor.
*
The no rituximab subgroup included patients in the no rituximab group who did not receive rituximab despite having diseases for which rituximab is a recognised therapeutic option.
†
Values for all comorbidities were missing for one individual in the no rituximab group; values for body-mass index were missing for one individual in the rituximab group and 120 individuals in the no rituximab group (61 of whom were also in the no rituximab subgroup).