Patient characteristics at baseline
| TCZ mono | TCZ combo | TNFi mono | TNFi combo | |
| N | 771 | 1773 | 1404 | 4660 |
| Age, year (median, IQR) | 55.8 (47.5, 64.5) | 55.4 (46.8, 62.2) | 54.5 (45.3, 63.8) | 54.3 (44.0, 61.9) |
| Female gender, N (%) | 639 (82.9%) | 1421 (80.2%) | 1165 (83.2%) | 3718 (79.9%) |
| Disease duration, year (median, IQR) | 10.2 (4.6, 17.2) | 9.0 (4.3, 15.3) | 8.7 (3.7, 15.6) | 7.9 (3.4, 14.6) |
| Seropositivity (RF and/or ACPA), N (%) | 458 (83.7%) | 1134 (83.0%) | 689 (79.5%) | 2772 (80.8%) |
| Previous bDMARDs, N (%) | ||||
| 1 | 301 (39.0%) | 737 (41.6%) | 822 (58.5%) | 3204 (68.8%) |
| 2 | 256 (33.2%) | 572 (32.3%) | 276 (19.7%) | 641 (13.8%) |
| ≥3 | 214 (27.8%) | 464 (26.2%) | 306 (21.8%) | 815 (17.5%) |
| Glucocorticoids, N (%) | 193 (25.0%) | 893 (50.4%) | 308 (21.9%) | 2625 (56.3%) |
| Glucocorticoids dose, mg/day (median, IQR) | 5.0 (4.0, 10.0) | 5.0 (5.0, 10.0) | 5.0 (5.0, 7.5) | 5.0 (5.0, 7.5) |
| Concomitant csDMARD, N (%) | ||||
| MTX | – | 931 (52.5%) | – | 2097 (45.0%) |
| MTX+other | 363 (20.5%) | 1421 (30.5%) | ||
| Other | 479 (27.0%) | 1142 (24.5%) | ||
| DAS28 | 4.1 (1.7) | 4.6 (1.4) | 4.1 (1.4) | 4.0 (1.4) |
| CDAI | 23.3 (15.9) | 27.7 (14.8) | 22.6 (15.3) | 21.4 (14.4) |
| HAQ | 1.3 (0.7) | 1.4 (0.7) | 1.2 (0.8) | 1.1 (0.8) |
| TJC (over 28 joints) | 7.7 (7.2) | 9.1 (6.8) | 7.5 (6.9) | 6.8 (6.3) |
| SJC (over 28 joints) | 6.0 (6.0) | 7.4 (6.0) | 5.9 (5.9) | 5.9 (5.6) |
| ESR (mm/hour) | 29.6 (25.5) | 34.4 (26.7) | 27.6 (23.8) | 26.5 (22.6) |
| CRP (mg/L) | 16.7 (26.8) | 19.9 (26.6) | 16.4 (25.5) | 14.9 (21.4) |
| Patient global assessment | 5.5 (2.8) | 6.0 (2.5) | 5.5 (2.7) | 5.1 (2.7) |
| Physician global assessment | 4.1 (2.5) | 5.1 (2.4) | 4.2 (2.5) | 4.0 (2.4) |
Values are mean (SD) when not specified.
ACPA, anticitrullinated protein antibody; bDMARD, biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; CDAI, Clinical Disease Activity Index; combo, combination therapy; CRP, C reactive protein; csDMARD, conventional synthetic DMARD; DAS28, Disease Activity Score 28; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire; mono, monotherapy; MTX, methotrexate; RF, rheumatoid factor; SJC, swollen joint count; TCZ, tocilizumab; TJC, tender joint count; TNFi, tumour necrosis factor inhibitor.