Utilization Patterns of Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs in Elderly Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.
10.3346/jkms.2014.29.2.210
- Author:
Xue Mei JIN
1
;
Joongyub LEE
;
Nam Kyong CHOI
;
Jong Mi SEONG
;
Ju Young SHIN
;
Ye Jee KIM
;
Mi Sook KIM
;
Bo Ram YANG
;
Byung Joo PARK
Author Information
1. Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. bjpark@snu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Utilization;
Antirheumatic Agents;
Arthritis, Rheumatoid;
Database
- MeSH:
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
- From:Journal of Korean Medical Science
2014;29(2):210-216
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
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.
