Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of RMD patients receiving and not receiving anti-IL6 therapy prior to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
| Overall (n = 1883) | Anti-IL6 group (n = 73) | Non-Anti-IL6 group (n = 1810) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | |||
| 18–54 | 904 (48.0) | 33 (45.2) | 871 (48.1) |
| 55–64 | 395 (21.0) | 15 (20.5) | 380 (21.0) |
| 65–74 | 326 (17.3) | 16 (21.9) | 310 (17.1) |
| ≥75 | 258 (13.7) | 9 (12.3) | 249 (13.8) |
| Mean ± SD | 55.2 ± 16.7 | 56.8 ± 15.6 | 55.2 ± 16.7 |
| Female sex | 1256 (66.7) | 57 (78.1) | 1199 (66.2) |
| Comorbiditiesa | |||
| Respiratory disease | 256 (13.6) | 11 (15.1) | 245 (13.6) |
| Interstitial lung disease | 90 (4.8) | 3 (4.1) | 87 (4.8) |
| COPD | 75 (4.0) | 4 (5.5) | 71 (3.9) |
| Asthma | 110 (5.8) | 5 (6.8) | 105 (5.8) |
| Cardiovascular disease | 215 (11.4) | 13 (17.8) | 202 (11.2) |
| Coronary heart disease | 177 (9.4) | 10 (13.7) | 167 (9.2) |
| Stroke | 55 (2.9) | 4 (5.5) | 51 (2.8) |
| Diabetes | 188 (10.0) | 7 (9.6) | 181 (10.0) |
| BMI (kg/m2) | |||
| <30 | 1282 (75.6) | 49 (75.4) | 1233 (75.6) |
| 30–39.9 | 368 (21.7) | 13 (20.0) | 355 (21.8) |
| ≥40 | 46 (2.7) | 3 (4.6) | 43 (2.6) |
| Hypertension | 447 (23.8) | 25 (34.2) | 422 (23.3) |
| Cancer | 67 (3.6) | 1 (1.4) | 66 (3.7) |
| Smoking | 174 (9.3) | 5 (6.8) | 169 (9.3) |
| Chronic renal failure | 92 (4.9) | 3 (4.1) | 89 (4.9) |
| No. of patients with at least 1 comorbidity | 1272 (67.6) | 46 (63.0) | 1226 (67.8) |
| Disease History | |||
| Chronic inflammatory arthritis | 1250 (66.4) | 52 (71.2) | 1198 (66.2) |
| Auto-inflammatory diseases | 27 (1.4) | 4 (5.5) | 23 (1.3) |
| Vasculitis | 180 (9.6) | 16 (21.9) | 164 (9.1) |
| Systemic auto-immune diseases | 367 (19.5) | 1 (1.4) | 366 (20.2) |
| Rheumatic Diseases or AI2D treatments | |||
| Corticosteroid | 553 (29.4) | 28 (38.4) | 525 (29.0) |
| Systemic corticosteroid doses ≥10 mg | 207 (37.7) | 10 (35.7) | 197 (37.8) |
| NSAIDs | 159 (8.4) | 2 (2.7) | 157 (8.7) |
| Colchicine | 73 (3.9) | 0 | 73 (4.0) |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 172 (9.1) | 0 | 172 (9.5) |
| Methotrexate | 645 (34.3) | 22 (30.1) | 623 (34.4) |
| Leflunomide | 72 (3.8) | 6 (8.2) | 66 (3.6) |
| Salazopyrine | 22 (1.2) | 0 | 22 (1.2) |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil/mycophenolic acid | 47 (2.5) | 1 (1.4) | 46 (2.5) |
| Azathioprine | 26 (1.4) | 0 | 26 (1.4) |
| IgIV | 9 (0.5) | 0 | 9 (0.5) |
| Targeted biologic or synthetic therapies | |||
| anti-TNF | 535 (28.4) | 0 | 535 (29.6) |
| rituximab | 100 (5.3) | 0 | 100 (5.5) |
| anti-IL6 | 73 (3.9) | 73 (100.0) | 0 |
| anti-IL17A | 58 (3.1) | 0 | 58 (3.2) |
| anti-IL1 | 14 (0.7) | 0 | 14 (0.8) |
| abatacept | 41 (2.2) | 0 | 41 (2.3) |
| JAK inhibitor | 70 (3.7) | 0 | 70 (3.9) |
| Other biologics | 36 (1.9) | 0 | 36 (2.0) |
Values are presented as frequency (percentage) unless otherwise indicated.
Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; BMI, body mass index.
a
2 missing values for comorbidities except for BMI where 187 values are missing (anti-il6, n = 8; non-anti-il6, n = 179; all biotherapy, n = 91).