TABLE 1.
Patient characteristics and comorbid conditions (diagnosed during index date–365 days to index date, inclusive) before and after propensity score matching
| Optum | MDCR | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before matching | After matching | Before matching | After matching | |||||||||
| Characteristic | TNFI | MTX | Std. diff | TNFI | MTX | Std. diff | TNFI | MTX | Std. diff | TNFI | MTX | Std. diff |
| Number of patients | 11,092 | 44,023 | 8925 | 8925 | 28,482 | 12,009 | 2125 | 2125 | ||||
| Age, years (mean) | 54.7 | 59.4 | −0.33 | 55.3 | 54.7 | 0.04 | 72.7 | 74.2 | −0.23 | 72.9 | 73.0 | 0.01 |
| Gender: female (%) | 75.6% | 75.0% | 0.01 | 75.5% | 75.8% | −0.01 | 71.0% | 69.8% | 0.03 | 71.5% | 72.2% | −0.02 |
| Post‐index follow‐up, days (mean) | ||||||||||||
| Summary metrics | ||||||||||||
| Distinct medications used (ingredients) (mean) | 12.8 | 12.9 | −0.01 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 0.00 | 15.8 | 14.6 | 0.14 | 15.3 | 15.5 | −0.02 |
| Distinct conditions diagnosed (mean) | 25.0 | 25.3 | −0.02 | 23.8 | 23.8 | 0.00 | 23.7 | 23.1 | 0.04 | 23.2 | 23.2 | 0.00 |
| Charlson comorbidity index (mean) | 2.60 | 2.78 | −0.08 | 2.52 | 2.51 | 0.00 | 3.45 | 3.37 | 0.03 | 3.37 | 3.38 | 0.00 |
| 1‐year pre‐index utilization | ||||||||||||
| All‐cause | ||||||||||||
| Inpatient visits (mean) | 0.22 | 0.19 | 0.05 | 0.20 | 0.21 | −0.01 | 0.33 | 0.31 | 0.04 | 0.31 | 0.33 | −0.03 |
| ER visits (mean) | 1.19 | 1.01 | 0.06 | 1.12 | 1.06 | 0.02 | 0.67 | 0.64 | 0.03 | 0.64 | 0.62 | 0.02 |
| Outpatient visits (mean) | 31.2 | 28.6 | 0.10 | 29.5 | 29.0 | 0.02 | 31.9 | 27.9 | 0.19 | 30.8 | 30.1 | 0.03 |
| All visits (mean) | 32.6 | 29.8 | 0.11 | 30.8 | 30.3 | 0.02 | 32.9 | 28.8 | 0.18 | 31.8 | 31.1 | 0.03 |
| RA‐related | ||||||||||||
| RA outpatient visits (%) | 98.6% | 91.6% | 0.33 | 98.4% | 97.9% | 0.04 | 99.6% | 97.6% | 0.17 | 99.7% | 99.0% | 0.08 |
| RA ER visits (%) | 14.4% | 9.6% | 0.15 | 13.7% | 11.6% | 0.06 | 9.5% | 6.9% | 0.10 | 9.2% | 6.8% | 0.09 |
| RA inpatient visits (%) | 10.0% | 6.4% | 0.13 | 9.2% | 8.7% | 0.02 | 10.2% | 7.6% | 0.09 | 9.6% | 8.3% | 0.05 |
| Medication/surgery | ||||||||||||
| DMARD use (%) | 50.0% | 35.4% | 0.30 | 44.8% | 47.1% | −0.05 | 61.6% | 41.1% | 0.42 | 56.0% | 58.5% | −0.05 |
| Opioid use (%) | 51.8% | 55.1% | −0.07 | 49.9% | 50.1% | 0.00 | 64.3% | 61.3% | 0.06 | 63.3% | 63.2% | 0.00 |
| Corticosteroid use (%) | 27.2% | 26.9% | 0.01 | 26.2% | 25.4% | 0.02 | 26.8% | 26.8% | 0.00 | 26.7% | 28.6% | −0.04 |
| Joint surgeries (%) | 33.1% | 29.2% | 0.08 | 31.6% | 31.5% | 0.00 | 44.2% | 38.6% | 0.11 | 43.5% | 42.8% | 0.01 |
| Comorbid autoimmune conditions | ||||||||||||
| Psoriasis with arthropathy | 5.3% | 2.2% | 0.17 | 4.4% | 4.6% | −0.01 | 2.6% | 1.1% | 0.11 | 2.3% | 2.5% | −0.02 |
| Systemic lupus erythematosus | 4.7% | 5.2% | −0.02 | 4.8% | 5.2% | −0.02 | 0.0% | 0.1% | −0.01 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.00 |
| Psoriasis | 4.3% | 2.0% | 0.13 | 3.5% | 3.6% | 0.00 | 2.1% | 1.2% | 0.07 | 2.1% | 1.6% | 0.03 |
| Ankylosing spondylitis | 3.2% | 1.1% | 0.15 | 2.4% | 2.5% | −0.01 | 1.2% | 0.6% | 0.07 | 1.3% | 0.7% | 0.06 |
| Crohn's disease | 1.9% | 0.4% | 0.14 | 1.2% | 1.1% | 0.01 | 1.3% | 0.2% | 0.12 | 1.0% | 0.7% | 0.04 |
| Ulcerative colitis | 1.7% | 0.5% | 0.11 | 1.2% | 1.1% | 0.01 | 1.3% | 0.5% | 0.09 | 1.3% | 1.0% | 0.03 |
| Other notable common comorbidities | ||||||||||||
| Essential hypertension | 37.7% | 42.5% | −0.10 | 36.8% | 36.1% | 0.01 | 41.9% | 44.9% | −0.06 | 41.4% | 42.1% | −0.02 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 25.9% | 32.7% | −0.15 | 25.8% | 25.1% | 0.02 | 23.0% | 26.8% | −0.09 | 23.3% | 24.1% | −0.02 |
| Low back pain | 20.9% | 19.3% | 0.04 | 19.6% | 20.1% | −0.01 | 18.6% | 15.6% | 0.08 | 17.7% | 17.4% | 0.01 |
| Osteoarthritis | 15.7% | 20.8% | −0.13 | 15.6% | 15.4% | 0.01 | 16.3% | 19.0% | −0.07 | 16.4% | 16.7% | −0.01 |
| Anemia | 14.9% | 15.4% | −0.01 | 14.2% | 14.3% | 0.00 | 15.8% | 14.3% | 0.04 | 14.7% | 14.9% | −0.01 |
| Vitamin D deficiency | 14.8% | 15.1% | −0.01 | 13.9% | 13.8% | 0.00 | 7.8% | 7.0% | 0.03 | 7.7% | 7.1% | 0.02 |
| Osteoporosis | 14.0% | 13.5% | 0.02 | 13.7% | 13.2% | 0.01 | 17.2% | 15.2% | 0.05 | 17.1% | 17.7% | −0.01 |
| Acquired hypothyroidism | 13.6% | 14.6% | −0.03 | 13.5% | 13.3% | 0.00 | 11.2% | 12.4% | −0.04 | 11.3% | 12.5% | −0.04 |
| Gastroesophageal reflux disease | 12.3% | 11.8% | 0.01 | 11.9% | 12.0% | 0.00 | 0.2% | 0.2% | −0.01 | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.00 |
| Diabetes mellitus without complication | 11.1% | 13.1% | −0.06 | 11.0% | 10.7% | 0.01 | 17.6% | 18.0% | −0.01 | 17.3% | 16.8% | 0.01 |
| Anxiety disorder | 9.8% | 9.7% | 0.01 | 9.2% | 9.6% | −0.01 | 0.0% | 0.1% | −0.02 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.00 |
| Edema | 8.9% | 10.0% | −0.04 | 8.6% | 8.2% | 0.01 | 9.4% | 10.6% | −0.04 | 9.4% | 10.2% | −0.03 |
| Obesity | 8.1% | 8.6% | −0.02 | 7.6% | 7.7% | 0.00 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.02 | 0.0% | NA | NA |
| Chronic obstructive lung disease | 7.9% | 9.4% | −0.05 | 7.8% | 7.6% | 0.01 | 14.6% | 12.6% | 0.06 | 13.6% | 14.9% | −0.03 |
| Depressive disorder | 7.3% | 7.2% | 0.00 | 6.8% | 7.1% | −0.01 | 3.7% | 4.3% | −0.03 | 3.5% | 4.0% | −0.03 |
| Asthma | 6.9% | 6.2% | 0.03 | 6.6% | 6.3% | 0.01 | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.05 | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.02 |
| Insomnia | 6.5% | 6.0% | 0.02 | 6.0% | 6.1% | 0.00 | 3.3% | 2.9% | 0.02 | 3.3% | 3.0% | 0.02 |
| Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome | 6.3% | 5.6% | 0.03 | 5.7% | 5.6% | 0.00 | 5.5% | 4.9% | 0.03 | 5.3% | 5.4% | 0.00 |
| Tobacco dependence syndrome | 5.5% | 5.6% | −0.01 | 5.3% | 5.5% | −0.01 | 2.4% | 2.4% | 0.01 | 2.4% | 2.1% | 0.02 |
Abbreviations: TNFI, TNF‐α inhibitor; MTX, methotrexate; Std. diff, standardized mean difference; DMARD, disease‐modifying antirheumatic drug.