Key clinical point: Few patient characteristics of men and women with nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) appear to differ, yet women with the condition have a significantly lower response rate to treatment with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors.
Major finding: An ASAS40 response was achieved after 1 year by 17% of women and 38% of men starting a first TNF inhibitor (odds ratio, 0.34; 95% confidence interval, 0.12-0.93), and this difference became more pronounced after adjustment for baseline differences in Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index score, Maastricht Ankylosing Spondylitis Enthesitis Score, body mass index, and diagnostic delay (OR, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.05-0.61).
Study details: A prospective study of 495 patients with nr-axSpA in the Swiss Clinical Quality Management cohort.
Disclosures: The study was funded by the Stiftung für Rheumaforschung in Zurich. The Swiss Clinical Quality Management Foundation is supported by the Swiss Society of Rheumatology and by 11 pharmaceutical companies. Two study authors reported receiving consulting and/or speaking fees from some of those same companies.