Evaluation of Tumour Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNFα) Blockers in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis in France

Aim: To describe 1) The use of TNF blockers in early arthritis in daily clinical practice in France 2) To evaluate symptomatic, structural efficacy, and retention rate over 5 years 3) To evaluate predictive factors for TNF blocker response Type of study: Observational cohort study using cross-section and longitudinal data. Description of the project methodology * Patients: All patients in the ESPOIR cohort (multicentre French cohort study of early RA).A sub-analysis will be conducted among patients satisfying the ACREULAR 2010 criteria. * Data collected: Patient characteristics, Clinical data regarding RA and related pathologies, Characteristics of treatments received The analysis will be conducted using data collected at baseline, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 60 months. * Analyses: 1. Frequency of use of TNF blockers: the % of patients initiating TNF blockers will be calculated (Kaplan-Meier method), and the type of TNF blocker will be described, the route of administration, the dosage, the association with other DMARDs and the place of the TNF blockers in the treatment strategy during the first 5 years. 2. Implementation of EULAR recommendations: the percentage of patients that initiate TNF blockers meeting the EULAR criteria for initiation will be estimated, and the concordance coefficient Kappa with regard to such fulfilment and the initiation of TNF blockers will be calculated, and disease severity outcome measures will be compared depending on the fulfilment or not. 3. Identification of potential predictive factors for initiation of TNF blockers: a survival curve (Kaplan-Meier) will be performed. The baseline characteristics of the patients with regard to the initiation of TNF blocker during the first 5 years of the disease will be compared by univariate analysis and Log-rank test will be performed in all variables. A stepwise multivariate analysis (Cox analysis) will be performed. 4. Therapeutical effect:the retention rate over time will be calculated, t