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Volume 21, Number 8—August 2015
Research

Risk for Mycobacterial Disease among Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Taiwan, 2001–2011

Tsai-Ling Liao, Ching-Heng Lin, Gwan-Han Shen1, Chia-Li Chang, Chin-Fu Lin, and Der-Yuan ChenComments to Author 
Author affiliations: Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan (T.-L. Liao, C.-H. Lin, G.-H. Shen, C.-L. Chang, C.-F. Lin, D.-Y. Chen); National Chung Hsing University, Taichung (T.-L. Liao, G.-H. Shen, D.-Y. Chen); National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Science, Taipei, Taiwan (C.-H. Lin); National Yang Ming University, Taipei (D.-Y. Chen); Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung (D.-Y. Chen)

Main Article

Table 1

Baseline characteristics for 144,985 patients with and without RA, Taiwan, 2001–2011*

Variables With RA, no. (%), n = 28,997† Without RA, no. (%), n = 115,988† p value
Age at entry, y‡
18–44 7,495 (25.9) 29,980 (25.9) 1.000
45–64 14,865 (51.3) 59,460 (51.3)
>65
6,637 (22.9)
26,548 (22.9)

Sex
F 22,524 (77.7) 90,096 (77.7) 1.000
M
6,473 (22.3)
25,892 22.3)

Concurrent conditions
Cardiovascular disease 8,100 (27.9) 28,327 (24.4) <0.0001
Diabetes mellitus 2,480 (8.6) 9,749 (8.4) 0.419
Hyperlipidemia 2,951 (10.2) 8,301 (7.2) <0.0001
Liver cirrhosis 2,451 (8.5) 7,277 (6.3) <0.0001
COPD 2,097 (7.2) 8,247 (7.1) 0.472
Chronic kidney disease 270 (0.9) 896 (0.8) 0.007
HIV disease
1 (0.003)
9 (0.01)
0.698
Charlson Comorbidity Index score§
0 12,653 (43.6) 78,773 (67.9) <0.0001
1 8,708 (30.0) 20,791 (17.9)
2 4,381 (15.1) 8,823 (7.6)
>3
3,255 (11.2)
7,601 (6.6)

Urbanization
Urban 17,167 (59.2) 68,429 (59.0) 0.668
Suburban 4,098 (14.1) 16,622 (14.3)
Rural 7,732 (26.7) 30,937 (26.7)

*COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; RA, rheumatoid arthritis.
†Median, mean follow-up time for patients with RA = 5.1, 5.2 ± 3.1 y and for patients without RA = 11.0, 10.3 ± 2.1 y; p<0.0001.
Mean (± SD) age for patients with RA = 53.9 ± 14.1 y and for patients without RA = 53.5 ± 14.9 y; p<0.0001.
§Mean (± SD) index for patients with RA = 1.0 ± 1.3 and for patients without RA = 0.6 ± 1.2; p<0.0001.

Main Article

1Deceased.

Page created: July 14, 2015
Page updated: July 14, 2015
Page reviewed: July 14, 2015
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