| Literature DB >> 34708574 |
Kathleen M Andersen1, Orit Schieir2, Marie-France Valois3, Susan J Bartlett4, Louis Bessette5, Gilles Boire6, Boulos Haraoui7, Glen Hazlewood8, Carol Hitchon9, Edward C Keystone10, Janet Pope11, Diane Tin12, J Carter Throne12, Vivian P Bykerk13.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe patterns of glucocorticoid use in a large real-world cohort with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and assess the impact on disease activity and treatment.Entities:
Year: 2021 PMID: 34708574 PMCID: PMC8754017 DOI: 10.1002/acr2.11334
Source DB: PubMed Journal: ACR Open Rheumatol ISSN: 2578-5745
Figure 1Flow chart of study sample selection (patient counts). ACR, American College of Rheumatology; CATCH, Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort; RA, rheumatoid arthritis.
Characteristics of early glucocorticoid users (n = 561, with subdivided groups of prevalent and incidence users) and nonusers
| Nonusers (n = 1,330) | Prevalent Users (n = 303) | Nonuser Vs Prevalent User | New Users (n = 258) | Nonuser Vs New User | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD), yr | 54 (15) | 57 (16) | 0.19 | 57 (15) | 0.20 |
| Female sex, n (%) | 998 (75) | 196 (65) | 0.22 | 177 (69) | 0.13 |
| Employed, n (%) | 771 (58) | 137 (45) | 0.26 | 117 (45) | 0.26 |
| Education at or less than the high school level, n (%) | 550 (41) | 136 (45) | 0.08 | 122 (47) | 0.12 |
| Overweight or obese, n (%) | 620 (47) | 123 (41) | 0.12 | 86 (33) | 0.29 |
| Weight missing | 396 (30) | 118 (39) | 0.19 | 132 (51) | 0.44 |
| Ever smoker, n (%) | 740 (56) | 182 (60) | 0.08 | 144 (56) | 0.00 |
| Number of comorbidities other than RA, n (%) | |||||
| 0 | 318 (24) | 64 (21) | 0.07 | 53 (21) | 0.07 |
| 1 | 326 (25) | 75 (25) | 0.00 | 57 (22) | 0.07 |
| 2 | 240 (18) | 48 (16) | 0.05 | 58 (22) | 0.10 |
| ≥3 | 438 (33) | 115 (38) | 0.10 | 88 (34) | 0.02 |
| Symptom duration, mean (SD), mo | 6.0 (3.0) | 5.6 (3.0) | 0.13 | 4.6 (2.6) | 0.50 |
| Morning stiffness ≥1 h, n (%) | 760 (57) | 209 (69) | 0.25 | 149 (58) | 0.02 |
| ESR, mean (SD), mm/h | 26.2 (20.6) | 27.1 (24.5) | 0.04 | 35.9 (27.3) | 0.40 |
| CRP, mean (SD), mg/L | 13.4 (17.6) | 16.3 (19.1) | 0.16 | 21.9 (22.7) | 0.42 |
| TJC28, mean (SD) | 8 (6) | 8 (7) | 0.00 | 11 (7) | 0.46 |
| SJC28, mean (SD) | 7 (6) | 7 (6) | 0.00 | 10 (7) | 0.46 |
| Seropositive, n (%) | 898 (68) | 198 (65) | 0.06 | 143 (55) | 0.27 |
| Missing | 213 (16) | 45 (15) | 0.03 | 33 (13) | 0.09 |
| DAS28 (from ESR or CRP if ESR is missing), mean (SD) | 4.9 (1.4) | 4.8 (1.4) | 0.07 | 5.6 (1.4) | 0.50 |
| CDAI, mean (SD) | 26.2 (13.4) | 25.1 (13.8) | 0.08 | 32.8 (15.0) | 0.46 |
| Physician Global Assessment, 0‐10, mean (SD) | 4.8 (2.5) | 4.8 (2.5) | 0.00 | 5.6 (2.4) | 0.33 |
| Patient Global Assessment (range, 0‐10), mean (SD) | 5.8 (2.9) | 5.3 (3.1) | 0.17 | 6.4 (2.9) | 0.21 |
| HAQ‐DI (range, 0‐3), mean (SD) | 1.0 (0.7) | 1.0 (0.7) | 0.00 | 1.2 (0.7) | 0.29 |
| Pain (range, 0‐10), mean (SD) | 5.5 (2.8) | 5.1 (2.9) | 0.14 | 6.3 (2.6) | 0.30 |
| Fatigue (range, 0‐10), mean (SD) | 5.0 (3.0) | 5.0 (3.1) | 0.00 | 6.0 (2.9) | 0.34 |
| Use of any DMARD, n (%) | 1187 (89) | 292 (96) | 0.27 | 241 (93) | 0.14 |
| Methotrexate use, n (%) | 943 (71) | 256 (84) | 0.32 | 202 (78) | 0.16 |
| Among users, dose ≥20 mg/wk | 632 (67) | 185 (72) | 0.11 | 105 (52) | 0.31 |
| Oral steroids average daily dose, mean (SD), mg | N/A | 13.1 (11.8) | N/A | 12.4 (8.7) | N/A |
| Oral steroids maximum daily dose, mean (SD), mg | N/A | 16.0 (13.7) | N/A | 15.1 (10.8) | N/A |
Abbreviations: CDAI, Clinical Disease Activity Index; CRP, C‐reactive protein; DAS28, disease activity score‐28; DMARD, disease‐modifying antirheumatic drug; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; HAQ‐DI, health assessment questionnaire disability index; N/A, not applicable; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; Vs, versus.
Nonusers, prevalent users, and new users were compared using absolute standardized mean differences.
Mean disease activity scores over time, by early steroid use
| Time Since CATCH Cohort Entry | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Months | 9 Months | 12 Months | 18 Months | 24 Months | |
| Clinical Disease Activity Index, mean (SD) | |||||
| Early glucocorticoid | 9.0 (12.8) | 6.6 (11.5) | 6.3 (9.5) | 5.3 (10.6) | 4.0 (7.5) |
| Not prescribed | 6.6 (12.9) | 5.5 (10.0) | 5.0 (9.0) | 4.0 (9.0) | 4.0 (8.0) |
| Tender joints (range, 0‐28), mean (SD) | |||||
| Early glucocorticoid | 2 (5) | 1 (4) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 0 (2) |
| Not prescribed | 1 (4) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 0 (2) | 0 (2) |
| Swollen joints (range, 0‐28), mean (SD) | |||||
| Early glucocorticoid | 1 (4) | 0 (3) | 0 (2) | 0 (2) | 0 (1) |
| Not prescribed | 1 (3) | 0 (2) | 0 (2) | 0 (2) | 0 (1) |
| Pain (range, 0‐10), mean (SD) | |||||
| Early glucocorticoid | 3.0 (4.7) | 3.0 (4.0) | 2.0 (3.0) | 2.0 (4.0) | 2.0 (3.0) |
| Not prescribed | 2.0 (4.0) | 2.0 (3.1) | 2.0 (3.2) | 2.0 (3.9) | 1.9 (3.9) |
| Patient Global Assessment (range, 0‐10), mean (SD) | |||||
| Early glucocorticoid | 3.0 (4.5) | 3.0 (4.0) | 2.9 (4.0) | 2.5 (4.0) | 2.0 (4.0) |
| Not prescribed | 2.0 (4.0) | 2.0 (3.9) | 2.0 (4.1) | 2.0 (3.5) | 2.0 (3.6) |
| Physician Global Assessment (range, 0‐10), mean (SD) | |||||
| Early glucocorticoid | 1.5 (3.2) | 1.0 (2.9) | 0.7 (2.0) | 0.5 (2.0) | 0.2 (1.8) |
| Not prescribed | 1.0 (3.0) | 1.0 (2.0) | 0.8 (2.0) | 0.3 (2.0) | 0.1 (1.0) |
| HAQ‐DI (range, 0‐3), mean (SD) | |||||
| Early glucocorticoid | 0.50 (1.00) | 0.50 (1.00) | 0.38 (1.00) | 0.38 (1.00) | 0.25 (1.00) |
| Not prescribed | 0.38 (0.88) | 0.25 (0.75) | 0.25 (0.75) | 0.25 (0.75) | 0.25 (0.75) |
| Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mean (SD), mm/h | |||||
| Early glucocorticoid | 13.0 (18.0) | 12.0 (15.0) | 11.0 (16.0) | 12.0 (18.0) | 10.0 (17.0) |
| Not prescribed | 12.0 (16.0) | 11.0 (17.0) | 11.0 (17.0) | 10.0 (16.0) | 11.0 (17.0) |
| C‐reactive protein, mean (SD), mg/L | |||||
| Early glucocorticoid | 3.0 (6.0) | 3.0 (5.9) | 3.0 (5.6) | 3.0 (6.0) | 3.0 (6.0) |
| Not prescribed | 2.9 (5.1) | 2.5 (4.5) | 2.7 (5.0) | 2.7 (5.0) | 3.0 (5.0) |
Abbreviations: CATCH, Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort; HAQ‐DI, health assessment questionnaire disability index.
Figure 2Longitudinal changes in Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI), by early steroid exposure groups.
Figure 3Number of months from oral steroid initiation to discontinuation. Participants who were still using oral steroids at the end of their follow‐up, or at 24 months if there was more than 24 months of follow‐up, were censored.
ORs with 95% CIs for biologic initiation by 12 months and 24 months of follow‐up, by early steroid exposure
| 12 Months | 24 Months | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Events, n (%) | Number With Follow‐Up | Crude OR | Adjusted OR (95% CI) | Number of Events, n (%) | Number With Follow‐Up | Crude OR | Adjusted OR (95% CI) | |
| Early oral glucocorticoids | 77 (16) | 483 | 2.2 (1.5‐3.1) | 2.4 (1.5‐3.7) | 89 (22) | 396 | 1.9 (1.4‐2.7) | 1.9 (1.3‐3.0) |
| Not prescribed | 82 (7) | 1137 | 1.0 (ref) | 1.0 (ref) | 110 (12) | 911 | 1.0 (ref) | 1.0 (ref) |
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio; ref, reference; DAS28‐ESR, disease activity score ‐ erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP, C‐reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate.
Crude model accounts for clustering on study site.
Adjusted for age, sex, number of comorbidities other than rheumatoid arthritis, symptom duration, morning stiffness lasting more than 1 hour, seropositivity, as well as DAS28‐ESR (or CRP if ESR was missing), Physician Global Assessment, and methotrexate use. Random effects terms for study site were used, with robust standard errors adjusted for clustering on study site. In the adjusted models, 386 persons with 12 months of follow‐up and 304 persons with 24 months of follow‐up were excluded because of missing data.