Patient characteristics of cases analysed from 2002 to 2011
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All patients | ||||||||||
| Cases (n) | 3600 | 3857 | 4020 | 2902 | 3172 | 3301 | 3108 | 2958 | 3420 | 3327 |
| Male (%) | 20.9 | 20.7 | 21.2 | 23.4 | 24.3 | 24.3 | 25.1 | 24.8 | 25.3 | 24.2 |
| Age (mean±SD) | 61.2±12.4 | 61.6±12.4 | 61.9±12.4 | 61.0±12.8 | 61.7±12.9 | 62.3±12.9 | 62.5±12.9 | 63.0±13.1 | 63.6±13.1 | 63.1±13.1 |
| Disease duration (median) | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 8.7 | 9.2 | 9.0 | 9.7 | 10.2 | 10.3 |
| DAS28-ESR (mean±SD) | 3.9±1.5 | 3.8±1.4 | 3.6±1.4 | 3.4±1.1 | 3.4±1.2 | 3.4±1.3 | 3.5±1.4 | 3.4±1.3 | 3.4±1.3 | 3.5±1.3 |
| Low activity, DAS28-ESR<3.2 (%) | 34.6 | 37.6 | 40.4 | 42.7 | 46.5 | 49.1 | 47.3 | 48.4 | 46.5 | 46.3 |
| Poor global health* (%) | 24.3 | 24.2 | 24.8 | 21.4 | 21.7 | 20.7 | 21.9 | 21.6 | 21.9 | 19.8 |
| Severe pain* (%) | 26.3 | 26.5 | 26.6 | 26.0 | 25.4 | 23.2 | 26.6 | 24.9 | 25.0 | 20.4 |
| Function (%) | ||||||||||
| HAQ ≤0.5 | 13.2 | 13.2 | 13.0 | 12.6 | 12.3 | 13.8 | 13.8 | 13.9 | 15.0 | 17.0 |
| HAQ >0.5–1 | 31.5 | 33.9 | 32.0 | 32.1 | 31.6 | 32.0 | 33.0 | 31.8 | 30.9 | 31.6 |
| HAQ >1–2 | 39.1 | 38.1 | 39.1 | 39.5 | 40.8 | 39.4 | 36.6 | 36.1 | 37.1 | 35.8 |
| HAQ >2–3 | 16.2 | 14.8 | 15.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.8 | 16.6 | 18.2 | 17.0 | 15.6 |
| Age 18–64 years | ||||||||||
| Cases (n) | 2088 | 2169 | 2172 | 1585 | 1621 | 1614 | 1508 | 1368 | 1549 | 1631 |
| Male (%) | 18.6 | 18.3 | 19.0 | 21.1 | 22.0 | 22.8 | 23.1 | 22.1 | 23.0 | 21.8 |
| Age (mean±SD) | 53.2±9.4 | 53.2±9.4 | 53.0±9.3 | 52.0±9.8 | 51.8±9.7 | 51.8±9.7 | 52.0±9.5 | 51.4±9.4 | 51.8±9.5 | 52.2±9.2 |
| Disease duration (median) | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.3 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 8.5 | 8.8 | 8.8 |
| DAS28-ESR (mean±SD) | 3.8±1.5 | 3.7±1.5 | 3.6±1.4 | 3.4±1.2 | 3.4±1.2 | 3.3±1.3 | 3.4±1.4 | 3.4±1.4 | 3.3±1.4 | 3.4±1.4 |
| Low activity, DAS28-ESR<3.2 (%) | 36.2 | 39.8 | 41.8 | 43.7 | 47.2 | 49.5 | 47.4 | 49.3 | 50.1 | 47.8 |
| Poor global health* (%) | 24.1 | 24.4 | 23.5 | 21.8 | 20.9 | 21.8 | 22.5 | 20.5 | 21.1 | 19.7 |
| Severe pain* (%) | 27.2 | 26.2 | 25.9 | 26.5 | 25.3 | 24.2 | 28.5 | 25.6 | 25.1 | 21.5 |
| Function (%) | ||||||||||
| HAQ≤0.5 | 15.5 | 15.3 | 15.9 | 15.4 | 15.6 | 16.9 | 17.1 | 17.7 | 20.1 | 21.6 |
| HAQ>0.5–1 | 33.0 | 34.7 | 33.4 | 34.9 | 33.6 | 33.0 | 35.0 | 35.0 | 31.5 | 32.6 |
| HAQ>1–2 | 37.7 | 37.7 | 37.8 | 37.9 | 39.3 | 38.6 | 34.5 | 33.1 | 35.9 | 33.6 |
| HAQ>2–3 | 13.8 | 12.3 | 12.9 | 11.9 | 11.4 | 11.6 | 13.4 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 12.2 |
| Employed (%) | 39.1 | 40.1 | 41.6 | 46.5 | 52.0 | 49.8 | 49.9 | 50.8 | 50.4 | 52.9 |
| Age-adjusted and sex-adjusted population employment rate (%) | 50.6 | 51.7 | 52.6 | 57.1 | 59.7 | 61.8 | 63.1 | 65.8 | 66.0 | 67.7 |
| Disability pension (%) | 24.5 | 22.1 | 23.5 | 24.2 | 23.3 | 21.5 | 20.2 | 22.2 | 22.1 | 20.6 |
| Sick leave (%) | 29.9 | 34.3 | 36.3 | 33.3 | 29.5 | 28.3 | 31.3 | 30.1 | 36.4 | 33.2 |
| Duration of sick leave in days (mean±SD) | 59.5±89.0 | 44.8±59.4 | 63.4±93.6 | 47.3±74.9 | 46.1±73.9 | 44.5±69.7 | 51.4±82.8 | 42.0±70.5 | 40.8±58.1 | 46.9±73.2 |
| Age ≥65 years | ||||||||||
| Cases (n) | 1511 | 1688 | 1847 | 1316 | 1551 | 1687 | 1600 | 1590 | 1871 | 1696 |
| Male (%) | 24.1 | 23.8 | 23.9 | 26.1 | 26.7 | 25.7 | 26.9 | 27.2 | 27.2 | 26.5 |
| Age (mean±SD) | 72.3±5.6 | 72.4±5.7 | 72.4±5.7 | 71.9±5.6 | 72.1±5.6 | 72.2±5.6 | 72.5±5.7 | 72.9±5.7 | 73.4±5.5 | 73.7±5.6 |
| Disease duration (median) | 8.5 | 8.7 | 9.1 | 9.5 | 9.4 | 10.2 | 10.5 | 11.0 | 11.5 | 11.7 |
| DAS28-ESR (mean±SD) | 3.9±1.5 | 3.8±1.4 | 3.7±1.4 | 3.5±1.1 | 3.5±1.2 | 3.4±1.2 | 3.5±1.3 | 3.5±1.3 | 3.5±1.3 | 3.5±1.3 |
| Low activity, DAS28-ESR<3.2 (%) | 32.2 | 34.7 | 38.8 | 41.6 | 45.8 | 48.7 | 47.2 | 47.5 | 43.4 | 44.7 |
| Poor global health* (%) | 24.7 | 23.9 | 26.4 | 20.9 | 22.6 | 19.6 | 21.3 | 22.6 | 22.5 | 19.9 |
| Severe pain* (%) | 24.9 | 27.0 | 27.5 | 25.4 | 25.5 | 22.1 | 24.7 | 24.3 | 25.0 | 19.4 |
| Function (%) | ||||||||||
| HAQ≤0.5 | 9.9 | 10.2 | 9.5 | 9.2 | 8.7 | 10.8 | 10.5 | 10.6 | 10.8 | 12.3 |
| HAQ>0.5–1 | 29.2 | 32.9 | 30.3 | 28.8 | 29.5 | 30.9 | 31.1 | 29.0 | 30.3 | 30.6 |
| HAQ>1–2 | 41.1 | 38.7 | 40.7 | 41.6 | 42.3 | 40.2 | 38.6 | 38.7 | 38.1 | 38.0 |
| HAQ>2–3 | 19.7 | 18.2 | 19.5 | 20.3 | 19.4 | 18.0 | 19.7 | 21.6 | 20.8 | 19.1 |
*A score of 7–10 on a numerical rating scale from 0 to 10.