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Ankylosing spondylitis patients commencing biologic therapy have high baseline levels of comorbidity: A report from the Australian Rheumatology Association database

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Open access
Authors
Oldroyd, J.
Schachna, L.
Buchbinder, R.
Staples, M.
Murphy, B.
Bond, M.
Briggs, Andrew
Lassere, M.
March, L.
Date
2009
Type
Journal Article

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Oldroyd, J. and Schachna, L. and Buchbinder, R. and Staples, M. and Murphy, B. and Bond, M. and Briggs, A. et al. 2009. Ankylosing spondylitis patients commencing biologic therapy have high baseline levels of comorbidity: A report from the Australian Rheumatology Association database. International Journal of Rheumatology. 2009: Article ID: 268569.
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International Journal of Rheumatology
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School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science
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This article is published under the Open Access publishing model and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Please refer to the licence to obtain terms for any further reuse or distribution of this work.

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Abstract

Aims. To compare the baseline characteristics of a population-based cohort of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) commencing biological therapy to the reported characteristics of bDMARD randomised controlled trials (RCTs) participants. Methods. Descriptive analysis of AS participants in the Australian Rheumatology Association Database (ARAD) who were commencing bDMARD therapy. Results. Up to December 2008, 389 patients with AS were enrolled in ARAD. 354 (91.0%) had taken bDMARDs at some time, and 198 (55.9%) completed their entry questionnaire prior to or within 6 months of commencing bDMARDs. 131 (66.1%) had at least one comorbid condition, and 24 (6.8%) had a previous malignancy (15 nonmelanoma skin, 4 melanoma, 2 prostate, 1 breast, cervix, and bowel). Compared with RCT participants, ARAD participants were older, had longer disease duration and higher baseline disease activity. Conclusions. AS patients commencing bDMARDs in routine care are significantly different to RCT participants and have significant baseline comorbidities.