title: Drug prescribing trends in adults with rheumatoid arthritis: a population-based comparative study from 2005 to 2014.
abstract: The aim of this study was to examine drug prescribing trends for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over recent years and compare them to matched non-RA subjects. Retrospective prescription data were examined from 2005 to 2014 in a population-based incidence cohort of patients with RA and comparable non-RA subjects. Drugs for or related to the treatment of RA were excluded. Comparisons between cohorts of percentages of patients with at least one prescription in a specific drug category/class were performed using Poisson regression models adjusted for age and sex. The study included 497 RA (71 % female) and 527 non-RA subjects (70 % female). The overall observed percentage of subjects who were prescribed at least one drug over the 10-year period was somewhat higher among the RA compared to non-RA subjects (relative risk [RR], 1.04; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 0.99, 1.08). Over the study period, both groups demonstrated significant increases in the percentages of patients with at least one prescription (age- and sex-adjusted 7 % increase over 10 years in RA, p < 0.001; 11 % increase in non-RA, p < 0.001). Drugs that were more common among RA than non-RA included gastrointestinal drugs, antimicrobials, calcium metabolism modifiers, thyroid hormone replacement therapy, tricyclic antidepressants, antiasthma/inhaled corticosteroids, proton pump inhibitors, contraceptives, antihypertensives, and some others. Prescription drugs that were less common in RA than non-RA were statins and other antilipemic drugs. Excluding drug prescriptions specifically for treatment of RA, there was a marked overall increase in prescriptions for drugs for both RA and non-RA cohorts over the study period.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Jorge A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zamora-Legoff
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Myasoedova
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.|Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Eric L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Matteson
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Sara J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Achenbach
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA. crowson@mayo.edu.|Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA. crowson@mayo.edu.
authors.forename: Cynthia S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Crowson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D005260:Female; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents; D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents
keywords: Drug use; Prescription patterns; Rheumatoid arthritis; Statins