The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in Western Australia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common form of autoimmune arthritis, but the prevalence in Australia is unknown. We estimated RA period prevalence and identified factors associated with frequent RA hospitalisations, using linked administrative health and state-specific Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) datasets in Western Australia (WA) from 1995 to 2014.

Methods

This was a longitudinal population-based cohort study using two independent datasets to identify prevalent RA patients. RA prevalence was calculated per 1000 hospital separations and biological therapy users. RA patients were identified in the WA linked health dataset using ICD codes 714.0-714.9 and M05.00-M06.99. Dispensing data on biological therapy for RA were obtained from PBS reco

SUBMITTER: Almutairi K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9804946 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature