Demographics at baseline
| UST (n=426) | TNFi (n=442) | |
| Age, years (95% CI) | 51.2 (12.47) (50.0 to 52.3) | 48.5 (12.59) (47.3 to 49.7) |
| Sex—male, n (%) (95% CI) | 183 (43.0) (38.2 to 47.8) | 202 (45.7) (41.0 to 50.5) |
| Disease duration since initial diagnosis, years (95% CI) | 7.5 (8.1) (6.8 to 8.3) | 6.2 (6.6) (5.6 to 6.8) |
| BMI, kg/m2 (95% CI) | 28.6 (6.3) (27.9 to 29.3) | 27.7 (5.0) (27.2 to 28.3) |
| csDMARD exposure, n (%) (95% CI) | ||
| Previous exposure | 376 (88.3) (84.8 to 91.2) | 411 (93.0) (84.8 to 91.2) |
| Ongoing exposure at baseline | 167 (39.2) (34.5 to 44.0) | 241 (54.5) (49.8 to 59.2) |
| Methotrexate exposure ongoing at baseline, n (%) (95% CI) | 127 (29.8) (25.5 to 34.4) | 187 (42.3) (37.7 to 47.1) |
| Other treatments exposure ongoing at baseline, n (%) (95% CI) | ||
| NSAIDs | 232 (54.5) (49.6 to 59.3) | 307 (69.5) (64.9 to 73.7) |
| Glucocorticosteroids | 138 (32.4) (28.0 to 37.1) | 152 (34.4) (30.0 to 39.0) |
| Line of bDMARD treatment, n (%) (95% CI) | ||
| First line | 193 (45.3) (40.5 to 50.2) | 241 (54.5) (49.8 to 59.2) |
| Second line* | 146 (34.3) (29.8 to 39.0) | 148 (33.5) (29.1 to 38.1) |
| Third line* | 87 (20.4) (16.7 to 24.6) | 53 (12.0) (9.1 to 15.4) |
| Cardiovascular/metabolic syndrome comorbidity, n (%) (95% CI)† | 176 (41.3) (36.6 to 46.2) | 157 (35.5) (31.1 to 40.2) |
Data are mean (SD) (95% CI of the mean) unless otherwise stated; % is that of available data. Numbers in bold indicate where significant differences exist at baseline.
*bDMARDs received before UST/TNFi in this study are presented in online supplemental table S2.
†Cardiovascular/metabolic syndrome comorbidity was numerically more frequent in the UST group.
bDMARD, biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; BMI, body mass index; csDMARD, conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; TNFi, tumour necrosis factor inhibitor; UST, ustekinumab.