Comorbidities in 11 years of follow-up
| Comorbidity | COBRA, n (%) events* | SSZ, n (%) events* |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiovascular events | 13 (17) | 14 (19) |
| Myocardial infarction | 5 (7) | 5 (7) |
| Stroke | 5 (7) | 1 (1) |
| Angina pectoris | 5 (7) | 8 (11) |
| Heart failure | 1 (1) | 3 (4) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
| Hypertension | 18 (24) | 8 (11) |
| Treated | 18 (24)† | 6 (8)† |
| Untreated | 0 (0) | 2 (3) |
| Hypercholesterolaemia | 6 (8) | 12 (17) |
| Treated | 4 (5) | 11 (15) |
| Untreated | 2 (3) | 1 (2) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 7 (9) | 1 (1) |
| Clinical fracture | 7 (10) | 8 (11) |
| Osteoporosis (T score <−2.5 at spine and/or hip) | 8 (11) | 11 (14) |
| During follow-up period‡ | 7 (10) | 8 (11) |
| At 11 year DEXA§ | 5 (11) | 9 (18) |
| At 11-year spine x-ray¶ | 11 (22) | 9 (21) |
| Avascular bone necrosis | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Infection | 7 (10) | 16 (22) |
| With hospital admission | 2 (3) | 8 (11) |
| Without hospital admission | 5 (7) | 8 (11) |
| Gastrointestinal events | 5 (7) | 3 (4) |
| Glaucoma | 2 (3) | 1 (1) |
| Cataract | 7 (10) | 2 (3) |
| Cancer | 6 (8) | 10 (14) |
↵* Percentage of events calculated as the number of patients with one or more event per number of patients in the follow-up group for who clinical records could be evaluated, unless stated otherwise (totals may differ due to rounding).
↵† p<0.05.
‡ Only recorded if a DEXA measurement was available in the clinical record.
↵§ DEXA measurements at 11 years were available in 94 patients, 47 in each treatment group.
↵¶ Prevalent vertebral deformities (mostly thoracic) at 11 years, measured by radiographs of the thoracic and lumbar spine, were found in 11 of 50 (22%) patients in the COBRA group versus 9 of 43 patients (21%) in the SSZ group.
COBRA, ‘COmbinatie therapie Bij Rheumatoide Artritis’; DEXA, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry; SSZ, sulfasalazine.