Table 1.
Comparison of demographic characteristics, factors associated with COVID-19, medications and clinical manifestations, and outcomes of COVID-19 in the studied group
| Parameters | RA patients with COVID-19 (n = 128) |
Control RA patients (n = 760) | p-value* | Index population (n = 92) | p-value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female, n (%) | 107 (83.6) | 578 (76.1) | 0.036 | 39 (42.4) | 0.001 |
| Age (mean ± SD) | 52.3 ± 13.9 | 52.4 ± 12.5 | 0.929 | 48.4 ± 16.2 | 0.058 |
| RA disease duration, median (IQR) | 97 (47, 150) | 78 (38, 132) | 0.083 | - | - |
| Active RA disease, n (%) | 35 (27.3) | 195 (25.7) | 0.377 | - | - |
| Factors associated with COVID-19 | |||||
| Obesity (BMI > 30), n (%) | 50 (39.1) | 136 (17.9) | 0.001 | 27 (29.3) | 0.112 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 34 (26.7) | 177 (23.3) | 0.247 | 29 (31.5) | 0.302 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 24 (18.8) | 73 (9.6) | 0.004 | 19 (20.7) | 0.447 |
| Pulmonary disease†, n (%) | 9 (7.0) | 14 (1.8) | 0.004 | 14 (15.2) | 0.082 |
| Chronic kidney disease‡, n (%) | 6 (4.7) | 7 (0.9) | 0.010 | 11 (12.0) | 0.049 |
| Malignancies, n (%) | 3 (2.3) | 5 (0.7) | 0.082 | 6 (6.5) | 0.127 |
| Smoking, n (%) | 4 (3.1) | 71 (9.3) | 0.018 | 22 (23.9) | 0.001 |
| Heart disease§, n (%) | 4 (3.1) | 17 (2.1) | 0.444 | 9 (9.8) | 0.079 |
| Transplantation, n (%) | 0 | 0 | - | 5 (5.4) | - |
| Medications used for the treatment of RA | |||||
| NSAIDs, n (%) | 19 (14.8) | 105 (13.8) | 0.048 | - | - |
| Prednisolone, n (%) | 97 (75.8) | 471 (62.0) | 0.001 | - | - |
| Methotrexate, n (%) | 93 (72.7) | 580 (76.3) | 0.210 | - | - |
| Hydroxychloroquine, n (%) | 88 (68.8) | 577 (75.9) | 0.055 | - | - |
| Sulfasalazine, n (%) | 28 (21.9) | 109 (14.3) | 0.025 | - | - |
| Leflunomide, n (%) | 24 (18.8) | 114 (15.0) | 0.170 | - | - |
| Azathioprine, n (%) | 4 (3.1) | 6 (0.8) | 0.045 | - | - |
| Calcineurin inhibitors, n (%) | 1 (0.8) | 5 (0.7) | - | - | - |
| TNFis, n (%) | 17 (13.3) | 28 (3.7) | 0.001 | - | - |
| Clinical manifestations of COVID-19 | |||||
| Fever, n (%) | 85 (66.4) | - | - | 68 (73.9) | 0.073 |
| Malaise, n (%) | 108 (84.4) | - | - | 84 (91.3) | 0.136 |
| Myalgia, n (%) | 106 (82.8) | - | - | 79 (85.9) | 0.112 |
| Sore throat, n (%) | 49 (38.3) | - | - | 40 (44.6) | 0.163 |
| Rhinorrhea, n (%) | 22 (17.2) | - | - | 25 (27.2) | 0.049 |
| Cough, n (%) | 92 (71.9) | - | - | 83 (90.2) | 0.001 |
| Dyspnea, n (%) | 72 (56.3) | - | - | 42 (45.7) | 0.048 |
| Diarrhea, n (%) | 30 (23.4) | - | - | 41 (44.6) | 0.001 |
| Anosmia, n (%) | 76 (59.4) | - | - | 38 (41.3) | 0.019 |
| Taste loss, n (%) | 67 (52.3) | - | - | 33 (35.9) | 0.031 |
| Pneumonia in CT, n (%) | 88 (68.8) | - | - | 57 (62.0) | 0.229 |
| Outcomes of COVID-19 | |||||
| Admission in hospital, n (%) | 49 (38.3) | - | - | 22 (23.9) | 0.002 |
| ICU care, n (%) | 14 (10.9) | - | - | 9 (9.8) | 0.546 |
| Mortality, n (%) | 11 (8.6) | - | - | 5 (5.4) | 0.161 |
We bolded significant P-values (p < 0.05)
*Comparisons between groups was made by chi-squared test, independent sample t test and U Mann–Whitney test, as appropriate
†Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease and cystic fibrosis
‡Decrease in glomerular filtration rate over a period of ≥ 3 months
§Ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure, valvular heart disease
RA, rheumatoid arthritis; n, number; SD, standard deviation; BMI, body mass index; IQR, interquartile range; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; CT, computed tomography; TNFis, TNFα inhibitors; ICU, intensive care unit