Baseline characteristics of RA subjects at cohort entry (n=16 207)
| Age (years, mean (SD)) | 70.9 (5.9) |
| Female (number (%)) | 68.3 |
| DMARD use at cohort entry* | |
| Methotrexate | 37.9 |
| Sulfasalazine | 3.3 |
| Leflunomide | 0.2 |
| Chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine | 42.9 |
| Azathioprine | 2.2 |
| Cyclophosphamide | 2.3 |
| Anti-TNF therapy | 0.01 |
| Gold | 10.6 |
| Others (ciclosporin, mycophenolate mofetil, d-penicillamine) | 2.8 |
↵* Patients could receive combination disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy and contribute to more than one drug category, allowing total to exceed 100%.
RA, rheumatoid arthritis; TNF, tumour necrosis factor.