Research Article

Use of Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Medicines before and after Initiation of Biological Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Table 1

Demographics characteristics at time of initiation of biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD), by type.

Type of bDMARDTNF inhibitors ()Non-TNF agents () value

Mean age, years (SD)54 (SD = 15.2)61 (SD = 12.4)<0.0001a
Gender0.185b
 Females, n (%)11,260 (69%)1390 (70%)
 Males, n (%)5,120 (31%)590 (30%)

aStudent’s t-test was used to compare mean age between two groups. bChi-square test was used to compare proportions between two groups. TNF ⟶ tumor necrosis factor. Non-TNF ⟶ non-tumor necrosis factor.