Comorbidities Before and After the Diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Matched Longitudinal Study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To determine the contribution of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to conditions and medical events. A secondary objective is to quantify this association before and after the introduction of biologic medications.

Methods

All data were collected as health administrative data in Ontario, Canada. Patients with RA (n = 136 678) matched 1:1 to a pool of possible controls without RA from 1995 to 2016. The study was a retrospective longitudinal observational administrative data-based cohort study with cases (RA) and controls (two non-RA comparator groups). The main exposure was new-onset RA identified by a validated diagnosis algorithm. The secondary exposure was the calendar year, which provided a natural experiment to compare years in which biologics were unavailable (pre-2001

SUBMITTER: Tatangelo MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7672304 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature