Table 1.
Characteristics of patients and controls
| Characteristics | MTX n=50 | NIP n=44 | P value |
| Age, mean (SD) | 61.68 (12.4) | 61.9 (21.5) | 0.946 |
| Female, n (%) | 40 (80) | 29 (65.9) | 0.339 |
| BMI mean, (SD) | 25.7 (4.0) | 25.77 (4.5) | 0.927 |
| Third vaccination | |||
| BNT162b2, n (%) | 38 (76) | 44 (100) | 0.032 |
| mRNA-1273, n (%) | 12 (24) | 0 (0) | |
| Time between blood sampling and third vaccination | |||
| Days between first visit and booster (pre booster), mean (range) | 10 (0–30) | 7 (0–36) | 0.089 |
| Days between booster and second visit (week 4), mean (range) | 31 (25–53) | 27 (17–42) | 0.001 |
| Days between booster and third visit (week 12), mean (range) | 88 (76–129) | 97 (78–124) | 0.009 |
| Rheumatic diagnosis | |||
| Rheumatoid arthritis, n (%) | 36 (72) | / | |
| Psoriatic arthritis, n (%) | 7 (14) | / | |
| Other, n (%)* | 7 (14) | / | |
| Medication | |||
| MTX-mono, n (%) | 15 (30) | / | |
| MTX+prednisolone, n (%) | 12 (24) | / | |
| MTX+TNF-α-inhibitor, n (%) | 11 (22) | / | |
| MTX+TNF-α-inhibitor+prednisolone, n (%) | 6 (12) | / | |
| MTX+other, n (%)† | 6 (12) | / | |
| MTX-dose in mg/week, mean (SD) | 12.5 (4.2) | / | |
| Prednisolone in mg/day, mean (SD) | 3.8 (3.3) | / | |
| MTX regimen | |||
| MTX continued, n (%) | 24 (48) | / | |
| MTX pause, n (%) | 26 (52) | / | |
| Duration of hold (days), mean (SD) | 19.9 (7.7) | / | |
| Duration of hold before vaccine (days), mean (SD) | 7.6 (3.9) | / | |
| Duration of hold after vaccine (days), mean (SD) | 12.4 (7.1) | / | |
*Takayasu arteritis, 2 × axial spondylarthritis (ankylosing spondylitis), dermatomyositis/polymyositis, polymyalgia rheumatica, blistering dermatitis, systemic sclerosis.
†2x Leflunomide, IL-12/IL-23-Inhibitor, prednisolone/immunglobulins, hydroxychloroquine, IL-17-Inhibitor.
BMI, body mass index; MTX, methotrexate; NIP, non-immunosuppressed persons.