Baseline characteristics of Danish and Swedish patients with RA treated with abatacept, rituximab and tocilizumab between 2010 and 2015, stratified by drug and country
| Variable | Abatacept n=2725 | Rituximab n=3363 | Tocilizumab n=2899 | |||
| Country | Denmark | Sweden | Denmark | Sweden | Denmark | Sweden |
| Treatment course, n* | 830 | 1895 | 718 | 2645 | 1098 | 1801 |
| Female gender, % (n) | 78 (648) | 81 (1531) | 78 (566) | 76 (2005) | 78 (852) | 79 (1417) |
| Age, years | 59 (50–67) | 61 (51–69) | 61 (52–69) | 64 (54–71) | 59 (50–67) | 59 (49–67) |
| Disease duration, years | 7 (3–16) | 11 (6–21) | 11 (5–19) | 13 (6–22) | 8 (3–16) | 11 (5–20) |
| Current smoking, % | 26 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 15 |
| IgM RF, positive, % | 61 | 79 | 67 | 89 | 58 | 79 |
| Glucocorticoids, % | 48 | 49 | 57 | 45 | 56 | 50 |
| Concomitant methotrexate, % | 66 | 46 | 56 | 43 | 46 | 43 |
| Other csDMARDs†, % | 26 | 10 | 26 | 12 | 23 | 8 |
| Previous bDMARDs, n | 1 (0–3) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) | 1 (0–2) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) |
| DAS28 | 4.7 (3.9–5.5) | 4.9 (4.1–5.7) | 4.9 (4.0–5.6) | 5.0 (4.1–5.8) | 5.0 (4.1–5.8) | 5.1 (4.2–6.0) |
| CRP, mg/L | 8 (3–20) | 8 (4–21) | 10 (4–23) | 10 (4–25) | 11 (4–30) | 11 (4–30) |
| HAQ | 1.4 (0.8–1.9) | 1.3 (0.9–1.8) | 1.5 (1.0–2.0) | 1.3 (0.9–1.8) | 1.4 (1.0–2.0) | 1.3 (0.9–1.8) |
| Medical history prior to baseline | ||||||
| Cancer‡, % | 1 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 6 |
| Serious infection§, % | 23 | 15 | 28 | 13 | 25 | 10 |
| Knee or hip prosthesis§, % | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 8 |
| COPD§, % | 7 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 3 |
| Diabetes§, % | 6 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| Myocardial infarction§, % | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Chronic kidney disease§, % | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Antibiotic prescription**¶, % | 50 | 49 | 56 | 43 | 51 | 42 |
| Total hospital days¶ | 5 (2–16) | 0 (0–2) | 6 (3–16) | 0 (0–2) | 5 (3–16) | 0 (0–1) |
| Previous hospitalisations§, n | 1 (1–2) | 0 (0–1) | 1 (1–2) | 0 (0–1) | 1 (1–2) | 0 (0–1) |
| Previous outpatient visits¶, n | 16 (11–22) | 7 (4–11) | 17 (12–23) | 7 (4–11) | 16 (12–22) | 7 (4–11) |
Numbers are medians (IQR) unless otherwise stated. Both first line and switchers are included.
*Data availability is shown in online supplementary table S2.
†Other csDMARDs: sulfasalazine, hydroxychloroquine and leflunomide.
‡Ever.
§0–5 years from baseline and back.
¶0–1 year from baseline and back.
**Proportion of patients who have reimbursed (DK) or dispensed (S) a prescription of antibiotics (ATC code J01), antimycotic (J04) and antiviral (J05).
COPD, chronic obstructive or interstitial pulmonary disease; CRP, C reactive protein; DAS28, Disease Activity Score of 28 joints; HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; RF, rheumatoid factor; bDMARD, biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; csDMARD, concomitant conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug.