Impact of Early Antimalarial Adherence on Future Acute Care Utilization and Cost Among Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Population‐Based Study
Authors' conclusion
Adherence to antimalarials in patients with RA and SLE was associated with a lower risk of hospital admission (11% reduction) and hospitalized days (21% reduction) and lower hospitalization costs (CAD $549.64 lower) compared to nonadherence.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with incident rheumatoid arthritis (RA)/systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and new antimalarial use, British Columbia, Canada, January 1997–March 2022, with at least one year of follow-upPropensity score (PS)-matched
- Participants
- 8,768 vs 16,479
- Exposure
- Antimalarial adherent vs nonadherent patients
- Adherentn = 8,768
- Nonadherentn = 16,479reference
- Outcome
- Hospital admissions, hospitalized days and hospitalization cost
- Follow-up
- Following year
Methodological detailspropensity score matched (up to 1:2), provincial administrative databases, quasi-Poisson and linear models with robust SEs, falsification tests and sensitivity analyses
- Propensity score matched (up to 1:2)
- Provincial administrative databases
- quasi-Poisson and linear models with robust SEs
- Falsification tests and sensitivity analyses
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Each group vs nonadherentEstimate (95% CI)
Adherent
adjusted rate ratio (hospital admissions) 0.89(0.84–0.94)
Adherent
adjusted rate ratio (hospitalized days) 0.79(0.71–0.88)
- Adherent
- difference in adjusted average hospitalization costs -$549.64 CAD (95% CI -$896.05 to -$203.22); P < 0.01
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Impact of Early Antimalarial Adherence on Future Acute Care Utilization and Cost Among Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Population‐Based Study. Arthritis Rheumatol. Published 17 February 2026. doi:10.
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