Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37147678›Full record

ArticleArthritis research & therapy2023

Association between air pollutants and initiation of biological therapy in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a nationwide, population-based, nested case-control study.

Chung-Mao Kao, Yi-Ming Chen, Wen-Nan Huang, Yi-Hsing Chen, Hsin-Hua Chen

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Arthritis research & therapy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Environmental and Genetic Determinants of Ankylosing Spondylitis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Review
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Chung-Mao KaoDivision of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, No.1650, Sec.4, Taiwan Boulevard, Taichung, 40705, Taiwan.
Yi-Ming ChenDivision of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, No.1650, Sec.4, Taiwan Boulevard, Taichung, 40705, Taiwan.
Wen-Nan HuangDivision of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, No.1650, Sec.4, Taiwan Boulevard, Taichung, 40705, Taiwan.
Yi-Hsing ChenDivision of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, No.1650, Sec.4, Taiwan Boulevard, Taichung, 40705, Taiwan.
Hsin-Hua ChenDivision of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, No.1650, Sec.4, Taiwan Boulevard, Taichung, 40705, Taiwan. shc5555@hotmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-7304-4587
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University · TWLing Tung University · TWTaichung Veterans General Hospital · TW

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOutdoor air pollution has been found to trigger systemic inflammatory responses and aggravate the activity of certain rheumatic diseases. However, few studies have explored the influence of air pollution on the activity of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). As patients with active AS in Taiwan can be reimbursed through the National Health Insurance programme for biological therapy, we investigated the association between air pollutants and the initiation of reimbursed biologics for active AS.

methodsSince 2011, hourly concentrations of ambient air pollutants, including PM2.5, PM10, NO2, CO, SO2, and O3, have been estimated in Taiwan. Using Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified patients with newly diagnosed AS from 2003 to 2013. We selected 584 patients initiating biologics from 2012 to 2013 and 2336 gender-, age at biologic initiation-, year of AS diagnosis- and disease duration-matched controls. We examined the associations of biologics initiation with air pollutants exposure within 1 year prior to biologic use whilst adjusting for potential confounders, including disease duration, urbanisation level, monthly income, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), uveitis, psoriasis and the use of medications for AS. Results are shown as adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

resultsThe initiation of biologics was associated with exposure to CO (per 1 ppm) (aOR, 8.57; 95% CI, 2.02-36.32) and NO2 (per 10 ppb) (aOR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.11-0.50). Other independent predictors included disease duration (incremental year, aOR, 8.95), CCI (aOR, 1.31), psoriasis (aOR, 25.19), use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (aOR, 23.66), methotrexate use (aOR, 4.50; 95% CI, 2.93-7.00), sulfasalazine use (aOR, 12.16; 95% CI, 8.98-15.45) and prednisolone equivalent dosages (mg/day, aOR, 1.12).

conclusionsThis nationwide, population-based study revealed the initiation of reimbursed biologics was positively associated with CO levels, but negatively associated with NO

Indexed as

Air PollutantsBiological ProductsSpondylitis, AnkylosingBiological TherapyCase-Control StudiesEnvironmental ExposureHumansNitrogen DioxideAir PollutantsBiological ProductsNitrogen DioxideAir pollutantsAnkylosing spondylitisBiologicsNested case–control study

Identifiers

PMID37147678
PMCPMC10161550
OpenAlexW4372332500

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.