Initiation of Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs in Older Medicare Beneficiaries With New Diagnosis of Late-Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Older adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) account for up to one-third of the RA population and are less likely to receive optimal treatment. For the subgroup of older adults with late-onset RA (LORA), who experience more symptomatic and progressive disease, suboptimal treatment could be more consequential than the general population who age with RA. We evaluated use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in older adults with a new diagnosis of LORA.

Methods

In this retrospective observational study, we identified adults 66 years of age or older with a new diagnosis of LORA using Medicare data from 2008 to 2017. Information on baseline patient characteristics and DMARD initiation during the first 12 months after LORA diagnosis were collected. We also as

SUBMITTER: Lee J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10716804 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature