Changes in inclusion criteria and baseline characteristics over time for methotrexate-experienced and methotrexate-naive populations
| No of studies | Intercept | Slope | R2 | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Methotrexate-experienced populations | |||||
| Swollen joint counts | |||||
| Inclusion criteria | |||||
| Base case | 26 | 7.2 | −0.0069 | 0.02 | 0.44 |
| Sensitivity | 34 | 7.6 | −0.0109 | 0.06 | 0.16 |
| Baseline characteristics | |||||
| Base case | 20 | 22.2 | −0.0403 | 0.17 | 0.06 |
| Sensitivity | 26 | 23.0 | −0.0468 | 0.29 | 0.00 |
| Tender joint counts | |||||
| Inclusion criteria | |||||
| Base case | 26 | 8.6 | −0.0098 | 0.03 | 0.39 |
| Sensitivity | 34 | 9.3 | −0.0150 | 0.07 | 0.12 |
| Baseline characteristics | |||||
| Base case | 19 | 29.3 | −0.0219 | 0.02 | 0.53 |
| Sensitivity | 25 | 30.9 | −0.0335 | 0.07 | 0.20 |
| C-reactive protein | |||||
| Inclusion criteria | |||||
| Base case | 17 | 1.9 | −0.0019 | 0.06 | 0.34 |
| Sensitivity | 21 | 2.0 | −0.0022 | 0.10 | 0.16 |
| Baseline characteristics | |||||
| Base case | 18 | 4.8 | −0.0199 | 0.27 | 0.03 |
| Sensitivity | 24 | 4.6 | −0.0182 | 0.26 | 0.01 |
| Methotrexate-naive populations* | |||||
| Swollen joint counts | |||||
| Inclusion criteria | 5 | 10.9 | −0.0630 | 0.88 | 0.02 |
| Baseline characteristics | 6 | 24.3 | −0.0974 | 0.64 | 0.05 |
| Tender joint counts | |||||
| Inclusion criteria | 5 | 13.3 | −0.0802 | 0.86 | 0.02 |
| Baseline characteristics | 6 | 31.9 | −0.0869 | 0.21 | 0.36 |
| C-reactive protein | |||||
| Inclusion criteria | 5 | 1.9 | −0.0027 | 0.17 | 0.49 |
| Baseline characteristics | 6 | 3.8 | −0.0059 | 0.12 | 0.49 |
Data from base case and sensitivity analysis are shown.
↵* Sensitivity analyses were unnecessary because enrolment start dates were available for all studies.