Effects of biologic and targeted synthetic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (b/tsDMARDs) on patient-reported outcome domains in rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and network meta-analyses
Study context
- Population
- Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in RCTs comparing DMARDs with placebo or other DMARDs and reporting patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) standard set for inflammatory arthritis99 studies
- Comparison
- b/tsDMARD classes compared with each other on PROs
- Outcome
- Relative effects of b/tsDMARDs on ICHOM RA-relevant PRO domains: pain, fatigue, activity limitation, and physical and mental health
Methodological detailsrandom-effects network meta-analysis (NMA), machine learning literature search (ASReview)
- Random-effects NMA
- Machine learning literature search (ASReview)
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Activity limitation (HAQ), MD
MD (95% CI)
JAKivs TNFi
−0.13(−0.23 to −0.04)
IL-6 inhibitorsvs TNFi
−0.13(−0.27 to −0.00)
Further pooled results
- Mental health domain ranking — IL-6 inhibitors
- 82%
- Mental health domain ranking — IL-6 inhibitors ranked highest in the mental health domain
- 82%
Overall ranking (surface under the cumulative ranking curve)
- Rituximab overall ranked best among b/tsDMARDs
Predictors of PRO improvement
- Early RA (<3 years diagnosis) and worse baseline PRO scores associated with larger PRO improvements
- P < 0.05
Original publication
Effects of biologic and targeted synthetic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (b/tsDMARDs) on patient-reported outcome domains in rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and network meta-analyses. RMD Open. Published 24 June 2026. doi:10.
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