Key clinical point: Methotrexate (MTX)-related side effects were more prevalent in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) vs rheumatoid arthritis (RA), whereas tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi)-related side effects were equally prevalent in patients with PsA and RA.
Major finding: In the first year, a higher proportion of patients with PsA vs RA reported MTX-related side effects (44.8% vs 29.4%), but similar proportions of patients with PsA (24.2%) and RA (22.8%) reported TNFi-related side effects. Patients with PsA vs RA were 1.8 times more likely to experience side effects with MTX (odds ratio 1.77; 95% CI 1.21-2.60).
Study details: Findings are from a retrospective cohort study including new initiators of MTX (PsA: n = 116 and RA: n = 4247) and TNFi (PsA: n = 124 and RA: n = 4361).
Disclosures: This study was funded by Amgen Inc. Two authors declared being employees or owning stocks in Amgen. The other authors declared receiving grants, funding, honoraria, or consulting fees from several sources, including Amgen.
Source: Ogdie A et al. Side effects of methotrexate and tumor necrosis factor inhibitors: Differences in tolerability among patients with psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. ACR Open Rheumatol. 2022 (Aug 15). Doi: 10.1002/acr2.11467