Factors determining a DMARD initiation in early inflammatory arthritis patients. The ESPOIR cohort study.

International audienceBACKGROUND: To describe the rate and timing of DMARD start in patients with early inflammatory arthritis in France, and to determine the factors leading to this treatment start. METHODS: The ESPOIR cohort study collects data on patients presenting with early arthritis. Baseline characteristics were assessed, and Cox regression analysis was performed to estimate the likelihood of starting DMARD treatment over time, adjusting for patient-, disease- and physician characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 775 analysed patients, 598 (77.2%) received at least 1 DMARD during the follow-up period, after a median time of 4.0 months. In general, a higher tender joint count, involvement of the hands, involvement of more than 3 joint groups, presence of abnormal CRP-levels or CCP-antibodies significantly increased the likelihood of being treated (p<0.01 for all determinants), as well as a positive result on the bilateral foot-squeeze test (p<0.04). In addition, a significant hetero-geneity in therapeutic strategy across the 14 tested French regions was found: adjusted hazard ratios for DMARD start ranged from 1 to 2.15 (p