Dr. Bombardier holds a Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Transfer for Musculoskeletal Care (2002–2016) and a Pfizer Research Chair in Rheumatology.
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Rheumatoid Arthritis
Serious infections in a population-based cohort of 86,039 seniors with rheumatoid arthritis
Article first published online: 26 FEB 2013
DOI: 10.1002/acr.21812
Copyright © 2013 by the American College of Rheumatology
Additional Information
How to Cite
Widdifield, J., Bernatsky, S., Paterson, J. M., Gunraj, N., Thorne, J. C., Pope, J., Cividino, A. and Bombardier, C. (2013), Serious infections in a population-based cohort of 86,039 seniors with rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Care Res, 65: 353–361. doi: 10.1002/acr.21812
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Dr. Bombardier holds a Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Transfer for Musculoskeletal Care (2002–2016) and a Pfizer Research Chair in Rheumatology.
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Dr. Bombardier has received honoraria (less than $10,000 each) from and/or has served on the Advisory Board for Abbott Canada, AstraZeneca, BioGen, BMS, Pfizer, Wyeth, Merck, Schering, Janssen, and Takeda, and has received honoraria (more than $10,000) from Abbott International.
Publication History
- Issue published online: 21 FEB 2013
- Article first published online: 26 FEB 2013
- Accepted manuscript online: 25 JUL 2012 09:56AM EST
- Manuscript Accepted: 10 JUL 2012
- Manuscript Received: 25 JAN 2012
Funded by
- Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, a nonprofit research corporation funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Grant Numbers: 82717, 83264
- Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Drug Innovation Fund
- Career award from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec
Abstract
Objective
To assess risk and risk factors for serious infections in seniors with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using a case–control study nested within an RA cohort.
Methods
We assembled a retrospective RA cohort age ≥66 years from Ontario health administrative data across 1992–2010. Nested case–control analyses were done, comparing RA patients with a primary diagnosis of infection (based on hospital or emergency department records) to matched RA controls. We assessed independent effects of drugs, adjusting for demographics, comorbidity, and markers of RA severity.
Results
A total of 86,039 seniors with RA experienced 20,575 infections, for a rate of 46.4 events/1,000 person-years. The most frequently occurring events included respiratory infections, herpes zoster, and skin/soft tissue infections. Factors associated with infection included higher comorbidity, rural residence, markers of disease severity, and history of previous infection. In addition, anti–tumor necrosis factor agents and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs were associated with a several-fold increase in infections, with an adjusted odds ratio (OR) ranging from 1.2–3.5. The drug category with the greatest effect estimate was glucocorticoids, which exhibited a clear dose response with an OR ranging from 4.0 at low doses to 7.6 at high doses.
Conclusion
Seniors with RA have significant morbidity related to serious infections, which exceeds previous reports among younger RA populations. Rural residence, higher comorbidity, markers of disease severity, and previous infection were associated with serious infections in seniors with RA. Our results emphasize that many RA drugs may increase the risk of infection, but glucocorticoids appear to confer a particular risk.