Type of publication:
Journal article
Author(s):
Adas, Maryam A; Bechman, Katie; Russell, Mark D; Allen, Victoria; Patel, Samir; Gibson, Mark; Karafotias, Ioasaf; Biddle, Kathryn; Zuckerman, Benjamin; Song, Kaiyang; Nagra, Deepak; Alveyn, Edward; Mahendrakar, Suma; Nursoy, Meryem; Atzeni, Fabiola; Gallagher, Sarah; Price, Elizabeth; *Garton, Mark; Rutherford, Andrew; Cope, Andrew P; Norton, Sam; Galloway, James B.
Citation:
Rheumatology. 2025 Jun 05. [epub ahead of print]
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: To identify risk of serious infections-(SI) according to initial conventional synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs-(csDMARD) and corticosteroids, in patients recruited to the National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit.
METHODS: An observational cohort study was used, including adults in England and Wales with new diagnoses of rheumatoid arthritis-(RA) between 2018-2023. Main outcome was SI-events, defined as infections requiring hospitalisation/or resulting in death. Secondary analyses evaluated SI-related mortality alone. Hazard ratios-(HR) were calculated using cox proportional hazards models. Primary predictor was initial treatment strategy, with confounder adjustments.
RESULTS: 17 472 patients were included, of whom 10 997 on methotrexate-based strategies; 4,540 on other csDMARDs; 13 680 received corticosteroids. There were 1307 SI-events, corresponding to incidence
rates per 100 person-years of 3.02 (95% CI: 2.86-3.19) and 311 SI-related mortality (IR 0.69, 95% CI: 0.61-0.77). Methotrexate-based strategies were associated with reduced risk of SI-events compared with other csDMARDs (adjusted HR 0.72, 95% CI: 0.63-0.82). In unadjusted models, corticosteroid was associated with higher risk of SI-events, but in adjusted models this association was no longer significant (adjusted HR 0.99, 95% CI: 0.87-1.12). Increasing age, being a current/or ex-smoker (relative to non-smoker), having a comorbidity, being seropositive, and having high DAS28 all associated with increased incidence of SI. One unit increase in baseline DAS28 increases the risk of SI-event by 10%.
CONCLUSION: Methotrexate-based regimens associated with a reduced risk of SI compared with other strategies. Patient-level and disease-related factors at diagnosis are important predictors of SI in individuals with new RA.
DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaf312
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