J Korean Med Sci.  2014 Feb;29(2):210-216. 10.3346/jkms.2014.29.2.210.

Utilization Patterns of Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs in Elderly Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

• Jin XM
• Lee J
• Choi NK
• Seong JM
• Shin JY
• Kim YJ
• Kim MS
• Yang BR
• Park BJ

• KMID: 1789977
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2014.29.2.210

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) utilization in Korean elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We used data from January 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006 from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service claims database. The study subjects were defined as patients aged 65 yr or older with at least two claims with a diagnosis of RA. DMARD use was compared by the patients' age-group, gender, medical service, and geographic divisions. The patterns of DMARD use in mono- and combination therapy were calculated. RA medication use was calculated by the number of defined daily doses (DDD)/1,000 patients/day. A total of 166,388 patients were identified during the study period. DMARD use in RA patients was 12.0%. The proportion of DMARD use was higher in the younger elderly, females, and patients treated in big cities. Hydroxychloroquine was the most commonly used DMARD in monotherapy, and most of the combination therapies prescribed it with methotrexate. DMARD use in elderly RA patients was noticeably low, although drug prescriptions showed an increasing trend during the study period, clinicians may need to pay more attention to elderly RA patients.

Keyword

Utilization; Antirheumatic Agents; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Database

MeSH Terms

Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Antirheumatic Agents/*therapeutic use
Arthritis, Rheumatoid/*drug therapy
Databases, Factual
Drug Therapy, Combination
Female
Humans
Hydroxychloroquine/therapeutic use
Male
Methotrexate/therapeutic use
National Health Programs
Retrospective Studies
Sex Factors
Antirheumatic Agents
Hydroxychloroquine
Methotrexate

Figure

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  Fig. 1 The flowchart of the study populations. HIRA, Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug.

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  Fig. 2 Prescriptions of rheumatoid arthritis medications by month from March 2005 to June 2006. DDD, defined daily dose; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug.

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  Fig. 3 Prescriptions of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs by month from March 2005 to June 2006. DDD, defined daily dose; HCQ, hydroxychloroquine; MTX, methotrexate; SSZ, sulfasalazine; BC, bucillamine; LEF, leflunomide.

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