Comparisons between comorbid conditions and health care consumption in rheumatoid arthritis patients with or without biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs: a register-based study.

Background: Symptoms and prognosis of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have improved with more intensive therapy, including the biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs). Real life data concerning how comorbidities are distributed among patients treated or not treated with bDMARDs are scarce. Our objective was to investigate differences in comorbidity and health care consumption in RA patients, with and without bDMARDs.