Characteristic* | Overall n=148 | MDA-A† n=34 | MDA-NA n=114 | P values |
Age (years) | 54.7 (11) | 54.8 (12.8) | 54.7 (10.5) | 0.99 |
Female, n (%) | 80 (54.4) | 15 (44.1) | 65 (57.5) | 0.17 |
Race, n (%) | 0.44 | |||
White | 136 (95.1) | 32 (94.1) | 104 (95.4) | |
Asian | 3 (2.1) | 1 (2.9) | 2 (1.8) | |
Pacific Islander | 1 (0.7) | 1 (2.9) | 0 (0.0) | |
Mixed race | 2 (1.4) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (1.8) | |
Other | 1 (0.7) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.9) | |
BMI (kg/m2) | 33.1 (7.6) | 32.5 (7.1) | 33.2 (7.8) | 0.60 |
BMI (in kg/m2) classifications, n (%) | 0.76 | |||
Normal/underweight (<25.0) | 13 (89.0) | 2 (6.1) | 11 (9.8) | |
Overweight (25.0 to <30.0) | 50 (34.5) | 13 (39.4) | 37 (33.0) | |
Obese (≥30.0) | 82 (56.6) | 18 (54.6) | 64 (57.1) | |
Disease duration (years) | 11.8 (10.1) | 11.6 (8.2) | 11.9 (10.6) | 0.48 |
HLA-B27 test result on record, n (%) | 34 (23.0) | 8 (23.5) | 26 (22.8) | 0.08 |
Positive test result (in patients with test results on record), n (%) | 9 (26.5) | 0 (0.0) | 9 (34.6) | |
History of comorbidities, n (%) | ||||
Cardiovascular disease‡ | 92 (62.2) | 20 (58.8) | 72 (63.2) | 0.65 |
Diabetes mellitus | 19 (12.8) | 5 (14.7) | 14 (12.3) | 0.71 |
Any cancer§ | 15 (10.1) | 2 (5.9) | 13 (11.4) | 0.52 |
Fibromyalgia | 11 (7.4) | 0 (0.0) | 11 (9.7) | 0.07 |
Serious infections¶ | 7 (4.7) | 1 (2.9) | 6 (5.3) | 1.00 |
Prior medication use, n (%) | ||||
Biologic therapy | 140 (94.6) | 30 (88.2) | 110 (96.5) | 0.08 |
Mean (SD) number of prior biologics | 1.4 (0.8) | 1.4 (1.0) | 1.4 (0.7) | 0.74 |
Prior biologics, n (%) | 0.16 | |||
0 | 8 (5.4) | 4 (11.8) | 4 (3.5) | |
1 | 94 (63.5) | 19 (55.9) | 75 (65.8) | |
2+ | 46 (31.1) | 11 (32.4) | 35 (30.7) | |
csDMARD therapy | 113 (76.4) | 26 (76.5) | 87 (76.3) | 0.99 |
Prednisone | 17 (11.5) | 3 (8.8) | 14 (12.3) | 0.76 |
Current biologic/tsDMARD use, n (%)** | 1.00 | |||
TNFis | 142 (96.6) | 33 (97.1) | 109 (96.5) | |
Initiations at baseline | 9 (6.3) | 5 (15.1) | 4 (3.7) | 0.03 |
Initiations prior to baseline | 133 (93.7) | 28 (84.9) | 105 (96.3) | |
Other biologics/tsDMARD | 6 (3.4) | 1 (2.9) | 5 (3.5) | |
Current prednisone use, n (%) | 8 (5.4) | 1 (2.9) | 7 (6.1) | 0.68 |
*All values were calculated based on available data and are presented as ‘mean (SD)’ unless otherwise stated. All variables had <20% missing data.
†MDA-A were classified as those patients who remained on their index biologic and achieved MDA at the second follow-up visit. MDA was determined to have been achieved if a patient met ≥5 of the seven following categories [25]: tender joint count ≤1, swollen joint count ≤1, BSA ≤3%, patient pain VAS ≤15, patient global activity VAS ≤20, HAQ score ≤0.5 and tender entheseal points ≤1.
‡Combined histories of myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, peripheral artery disease, cardiac revascularisation procedure, ventricular arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, unstable angina, stroke, transient ischaemic attack, pulmonary embolism, carotid artery disease, deep vein thrombosis or other cardiovascular event.
§Excludes non-melanoma of the skin.
¶Includes those infections that lead to hospitalisation or intravenous antibiotics: joint/bursa, cellulitis, sinusitis, diverticulitis, sepsis, pneumonia bronchitis, gastroenteritis, meningitis, urinary tract infection, upper respiratory infection or infection of other specified site.
**Index biologic and tsDMARD therapies included adalimumab, apremilast, certolizumab pegol, etanercept, golimumab, infliximab and ustekinumab.
BMI, body mass index; BSA, body surface area; csDMARD, conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire; HLA, human leukocyte antigen; MDA, minimal disease activity; MDA-A, minimal disease activity achievers; MDA-NA, minimal disease activity non-achievers; TNFi, tumour necrosis factor inhibitor; tsDMARD, targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; VAS, visual analogue scale.