Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of the 1204 patients treated with biologics
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD), year | 54.0 (12.8) |
| Female (%) | 82.6 |
| Disease duration, mean (SD), year | 7.1 (7.2) |
| Non-smoking (%) | 84.4 |
| History of cardiovascular diseases (%) | 3.9 |
| History of lung diseases (%) | 6.1 |
| History of hemato-oncologic diseases (%) | 1.3 |
| HBsAg positivity (%) | 3.5 |
| HBsAb positivity (%) | 46.7 |
| HBcAb positivity (%) | 7.6 |
| HCV Ab positivity (%) | 0.75 |
| Rheumatoid factor positivity (%) | 83.2 |
| Rheumatoid factor, mean (SD), mg/dL | 141.6 (216.8) |
| Anti-CCP antibody positivity (%) | 73.4 |
| Anti-CCP antibody, mean (SD), mg/dL | 190.3 (242.1) |
| Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mean (SD), mm3/h | 48.6 (26.8) |
| C-reactive protein, mean (SD), mg/dL | 2.4 (3.0) |
| Anti-nuclear antibody (%) | 35.4 |
| Methotrexate treatment (%) | 83.7 |
| Methotrexate dose, mean (SD), mg | 10.5 (5.4) |
| Treatment of cDMARDs other than methotrexate (%)a | 33.6 |
| Prednisolone treatment (%)b | 71.1 |
| Prednisolone dose, mean (SD), mgb | 5.0 (3.8) |
| DAS28-ESR at baseline, mean (SD) | 5.6 (1.0) |
| DAS28-ESR at follow-up, mean (SD) (N = 1397) | 4.3 (1.3) |
aIncluding leflunomide, sulfasalazine, hydroxychloroquine, or tacrolimus
bGlucocorticoid dose (e.g., prednisolone, methylprednisolone, deflazacort, and dexamethasone) was converted to prednisolone doses
cDMARDs conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, DAS28-ESR disease activity score in 28 joints using erythrocyte sedimentation rate, HBsAg hepatitis B surface antigen, HBsAb hepatitis B surface antibody, HBcAb hepatitis B core antibody, HCV hepatitis C virus