Baseline characteristics of study cohort by current treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
| MTX(n = 4206) | TNF antagonists(n = 1804) | MTX + TNF antagonists(n = 2855) | Other DMARDs(n = 1274) | |
| Female % | 73.8 | 76.0 | 77.7 | 74.1 |
| Age (years) | 59.7 (13.4) | 56.8 (13.5) | 57.9 (13.2) | 60.1 (13.3) |
| Race (white) (%) | 86.8 | 86.7 | 86.2 | 88.2 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 29.1 (7.0) | 28.9 (7.3) | 29.1 (7.0) | 28.6 (6.7) |
| College education (%) | 45.7 | 54.6 | 51.4 | 47.5 |
| Duration of RA (years) | 9.5 (9.8) | 11.4 (9.6) | 11.1 (9.6) | 10.1 (9.8) |
| RF positive (%) | 71.1 | 72.1 | 74.7 | 72.2 |
| Functional class >1 (%) | 57.5 | 64.6 | 67.7 | 45.8 |
| Physician disease activity | 25.6 (21.0) | 27.6 (22.0) | 27.6 (21.2) | 22.5 (19.8) |
| MHAQ score | 0.3 (0.4) | 0.4 (0.5) | 0.4 (0.4) | 0.3 (0.4) |
| Patient disease activity | 30.5 (26.1) | 32.5 (25.9) | 30.9 (24.9) | 28.5 (24.8) |
| Patient pain score | 33.0 (25.9) | 35.5 (26.0) | 33.7 (25.6) | 30.1 (24.4) |
| Swollen joint count (28) | 5.4 (6.1) | 5.1 (5.8) | 5.9 (6.5) | 4.1 (5.1) |
| Tender joint count (28) | 4.2 (5.7) | 4.8 (6.1) | 4.7 (6.1) | 3.6 (5.3) |
| Chronic liver disease (%) | 2.3 | 6.0 | 2.8 | 4.1 |
| Diabetes mellitus (%) | 7.1 | 7.8 | 5.9 | 7.5 |
| Smoking history (%) | 19.1 | 19.4 | 17.9 | 22.5 |
| Chronic lung disorder (%) | 6.2 | 9.0 | 5.0 | 11.2 |
| Ischaemic heart disease (%) | 7.1 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 8.6 |
| Current prednisone (%) | 39.3 | 40.9 | 38.3 | 36.6 |
| Previous other DMARDs (%) | 46.6 | 69.4 | 57.1 | 85.7 |
Except where otherwise indicated, values are mean (SD).
DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; MHAQ, modified Health Assessment Questionnaire; MTX, methotrexate; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; RF, rheumatoid factor; TNF, tumour necrosis factor.