Table 1

Attributes and levels

AttributeDescriptionLevels
How and how often the treatment is takenHow the treatment is taken can differ between medicines. While some medicines are taken every day via an oral pill, others may require regular injections or infusions.

  1. Oral pill every day

  2. Injection every other week

  3. Injection once a week

  4. Injection twice a week*

Difficulty with daily activitiesRA treatments aim to improve your symptoms—and therefore, your level of difficulty with daily activities. However different medicines have different effectiveness levels, and thus result in different difficulty levels with daily activities. Examples of daily activities include going up stairs, showering/bathing, grocery shopping, walking outside and/or doing typical house chores.

  1. Mild or no difficulty with daily activities with treatment

  2. Moderate difficulty with daily activities with treatment

  3. Severe difficulty with daily activities with treatment*

Amount of painMany patients with RA suffer from pain. This may get better or worse over time, depending on your treatment and how your RA develops. RA treatments also differ in effectiveness, and your pain level depends on your treatment.

  1. 10 out of 100

  2. 40 out of 100

  3. 80 out of 100*

Risk of blood clotsRA treatments may have a warning for risk of causing blood clots. Signs of blood clots in the veins include a painful swollen leg, chest pain or shortness of breath. In some cases, you may have to stay in the hospital for the duration of the treatment. In rare instances, blood clots can result in life-threatening complications.

  1. 0 out of 100 (0%)

  2. 3 out of 100 (3%)

  3. 6 out of 100 (6%)*

Risk of serious infectionsThe risk of serious infections for 1 year on treatment is shown. Serious infections, such as pneumonia, require hospitalisation and may become life-threatening. Different treatments have different risks of causing serious infections.

  1. 0 out of 100 (0%)

  2. 3 out of 100 (3%)

  3. 6 out of 100 (6%)*

Risk of negative effects on sperm (males only)Some RA treatments may affect the quality of your sperm or reduce the number of sperms per ejaculation. This does not mean that your overall sexual health is impacted. The changes to sperm may be partially reversible after 13 weeks of stopping the medication.

  1. 0 out of 100 (0%)

  2. 15 out of 100 (15%)

  3. 30 out of 100 (30%)*

  • *Reference level.

  • RA, rheumatoid arthritis.