Key clinical point: Female patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who initiated treatment with first-line tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) experienced less reduction in disease activity scores and showed higher discontinuation rates than male patients.
Major finding: At 6 months, women were 17% less likely than men to achieve low disease activity according to Disease Activity Score-28 C-reactive protein measurements (adjusted relative risk 0.83; 95% CI 0.81-0.85), and the risk for TNFi treatment discontinuation at 2 years was nearly 60% higher in women vs in men (adjusted hazard ratio 1.57; 95% CI 1.49-1.66).
Study details: Findings are from a retrospective study including 18,599 patients with PsA who received their first TNFi, of whom 7679 and 17,842 women were analyzed for treatment response and retention rates, respectively.
Disclosures: This study did not disclose any funding source. Several authors declared receiving honoraria, unrestricted grants, speaker’s fees, or consultancy fees from or having other ties with various sources.
Source: Hellamand P et al. Sex differences in the effectiveness of first-line tumor necrosis factor inhibitors in psoriatic arthritis; results from the EuroSpA Research Collaboration Network. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2023 (Nov 16). doi: 10.1002/art.42758