| All articles n = 109 | RCTs n = 50 | Other studies n = 59 | |
| Number of patients per article, mean (SD) | 278 (641) | 231 (212) | 319 (854) |
| Total patient number | 30 081 | 11 568 | 18 513 |
| Female gender (%)* | 76 | 78 | 74 |
| Age, mean (SD)* | 58.1 (10.1) | 56.4 (9.8) | 59.1 (10.2) |
| Disease duration (years), mean (SD)* | 9.2 (8.0) | 9.5 (7.2) | 9.1 (8.3) |
| Duration of follow-up (weeks), mean (SD) | 67 (130) | 40 (35) | 91 (174) |
| Jadad score, mean (SD) | 1.5 (1.3) | 2.6 (1.0) | 0.7 (0.8) |
| Financial support* | |||
| 1. Public support, n (%) | 28 (37.3) | 12 (31.5) | 16 (43.2) |
| 2. Totally or partly private support, n (%) | 47 (62.7) | 26 (68.5) | 21 (56.8) |
| Treatment assessed | |||
| 1. DMARD, n (%) | 20 (18.3) | 9 (18.0) | 11 (18.6) |
| 2. Biologicals or DMARD, n (%) | 42 (38.5) | 19 (38.0) | 23 (38.9) |
| 3. Non-pharmacological, n (%) | 19 (17.4) | 11 (22.0) | 8 (13.5) |
| 4. NSAID or steroids, n (%) | 6 (5.5) | 4 (8.0) | 2 (3.4) |
| 5. Others, n (%) | 22 (20.1) | 7 (14.0) | 15 (25.4) |
| Report of composite indices (“core set”) | |||
| 1. DAS and/or EULAR response, n (%) | 40 (36.7) | 16 (32.0) | 24 (40.6) |
| 2. ACR response, n (%) | 19 (17.4) | 13 (26.0) | 6 (10.1) |
| 3. DAS/EULAR and ACR response, n (%) | 21 (19.3) | 13 (26.0) | 8 (13.5) |
| 4. No “core set” report, n (%) | 29 (26.6) | 8 (16.0) | 21 (35.5) |
ACR, American College of Rheumatology; DAS, Disease Activity Score; DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; EULAR, European League Against Rheumatism; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; RCT, randomised controlled trial.
*Results are calculated on available data.