Association between risk, duration and cause of hospitalisations in people with rheumatoid arthritis and multimorbidity in the UK Biobank and Scottish Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (SERA) cohorts: Longitudinal observational study
Authors' conclusion
Participants with established or early RA with multimorbidity experienced a higher rate and duration of hospitalisations than those with RA alone and with non-RA matched controls.
Study context
- Population
- UK Biobank participants self-reporting established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (recruited 2006–2010) and SERA participants with early RA meeting 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria (recruited 2011–2015)4,757 UK Biobank
- Exposure
- RA + ≥2 long-term conditions (LTCs) and RA + 1 LTC vs RA only; RA vs matched non-RA controls
- Outcome
- Number and duration of hospitalisations and their causes
Methodological detailstwo cohorts (UK Biobank and SERA), matched to five non-RA controls, negative binomial regression
- Two cohorts (UK Biobank and SERA)
- Matched to five non-RA controls
- Negative binomial regression
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Hospitalisation rate
RA + ≥ 2 LTCs vs RA onlyIncidence rate ratio (95% CI)
UK Biobank
2.10(1.91–2.30)
SERA
1.74(1.23–2.48)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | IRR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Total duration of hospitalisationRA + ≥ 2 LTCsvs RA onlyUK Biobank | 2.48 (2.17–2.84) | |
| Total duration of hospitalisationRA + ≥ 2 LTCsvs RA onlySERA | 1.90 (1.07–3.38) | |
| 0.20.5125Incidence rate ratio (log scale) |
Rate and total duration of hospitalisations, RA vs non-RA controls (UK Biobank)
- Higher in UK Biobank RA participants than non-RA controls with equivalent number of LTCs
Hospitalisations for respiratory infection
- Higher in early RA than established RA; commonest cause of admission in early RA
Original publication
Association between risk, duration and cause of hospitalisations in people with rheumatoid arthritis and multimorbidity in the UK Biobank and Scottish Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (SERA) cohorts: Longitudinal observational study. Semin Arthritis Rheum. Published 17 November 2022. doi:10.
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