Table 1 Comparison of clinical characteristics amongst COVID and non-COVID AIRD patients
| Â | Overall 9212 (%) | COVID positive 314 (%) | COVID negative 8898 (%) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Age in years | 45.1 ± 14.3 | 46.8 ± 14.3 | 45.1 ± 14.2 | 0.028 |
Gender | ||||
 Male | 2134 (23.2) | 99 (31.5) | 2035 (22.9) | < 0.001 |
 Female | 7075 (76.8) | 215 (68.5) | 6860 (77.1) |  |
Duration of AIRD in months | ||||
 1–24 | 2916 (32.5) | 94 (30.4) | 2822 (32.5) | 0.658 |
 25–48 | 1720 (19.2) | 64 (20.7) | 1656 (19.1) |  |
 > 48 | 4343 (48.4) | 151 (48.9) | 4192 (48.4) |  |
Diagnosis | ||||
 RA | 4558 (50.9) | 120 (40.0) | 4438 (51.3) |  < 0.001 |
 SLE | 1379 (15.4) | 36 (12.0) | 1343 (15.5) | 0.07 |
 Inflammatory myositis | 99 (1.1) | 3 (1.0) | 96 (1.1) | 0.25 |
 Systemic sclerosis | 173 (1.9) | 7 (2.3) | 166 (1.9) | 0.36 |
 Systemic vasculitis | 193 (2.2) | 18 (6.1) | 175 (2.0) | < 0.001 |
 PsA | 716 (8.0) | 21 (7.1) | 695 (8.1) | 0.52 |
 Sjogren’s | 148 (1.7) | 8 (2.7) | 140 (1.6) | 0.15 |
 AxSpA | 819 (9.1) | 33 (11.1) | 786 (9.1) | 0.31 |
 Sarcoidosis | 58 (0.6) | 4 (1.3) | 54 (0.6) | 0.84 |
 Bechets | 11 (0.1) | 2 (0.7) | 9 (0.1) | 0.15 |
 Others | 720 (8.0) | 45 (15.0) | 675 (7.8) |  |
 HCQ use N (%) | 5266 (57.4) | 167 (53.2) | 5099 (57.5) | 0.125 |
 Mean dose (mg) | 212 (200, 300) | 200 (200, 300) | 200 (200, 300) | 0.136 |
 Duration (months) | 12 (3, 39) | 10 (0, 38) | 12 (3, 39) | 0.218 |
 Glucocorticoids N (%) | 3459 (37.7) | 122 (39.0) | 3337 (37.7) | 0.647 |
Mean dose mg/day (%) | ||||
 < 7.5 | 2652 (79.5) | 91 (73.4) | 2561 (79.7) | 0.111 |
 7.5–20 | 395 (11.8) | 22 (17.7) | 373 (11.6) |  |
 > 20 | 289 (8.7) | 11 (8.9) | 278 (8.7) |  |
Immunosuppression | ||||
 Methotrexate | 5494 (60.0) | 152 (49.0) | 5336 (60.3) | 0.001 |
 Azathioprine | 389 (4.3) | 12 (4.0) | 377 (4.3) | 0.800 |
 Mycophenolate | 720 (7.9) | 34 (11.3) | 686 (7.8) | 0.029 |
 Cyclophosphamide | 58 (0.6) | 8 (2.7) | 50 (0.6) | < 0.001 |
 Leflunomide | 1811 (19.7) | 46 (15.1) | 1765 (20.1) | 0.034 |
 Tacrolimus | 496 (5.5) | 15 (5.0) | 481 (5.5) | 0.655 |
 Rituximab | 149 (1.6) | 11 (3.5) | 138 (1.6) | 0.007 |
 TNFi | 193 (2.1) | 10 (3.2) | 183 (2.1) | 0.170 |
 Secukinumab | 35 (0.4) | 1 (0.3) | 34 (0.4) | 0.857 |
 JAKinibs | 21 (0.2) | 0 | 21 (0.2) | 1.000 |
 Iguratimod | 42 (0.5) | 1 (0.3) | 41 (0.5) | 1.000 |
Comorbidities | ||||
 DM | 993 (10.9) | 62 (19.8) | 931 (10.5) | < 0.0001 |
 HTN | 1385 (15.0) | 68 (21.9) | 1317 (14.9) | < 0.0001 |
 Pre existing lung disease | 366 (4.0) | 28 (8.9) | 338 (3.8) | < 0.0001 |
ACEi/ARBs | ||||
 Yes | 898 (9.9) | 39 (12.6) | 859 (9.8) | 0.096 |
 No | 8218 (90.1) | 269 (97.1) | 7841 (97.7) |  |
 Smoking | 85 (0.9) | 9 (2.9) | 76 (0.9) | 0.002 |