Abstract
Objective
Little is known about the preferences of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) regarding tapering of biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs). The aim of this study was to assess the preferences of people with RA in relation to potential treatment- related benefits and risks of bDMARD tapering and the healthcare service-related attributes that affect tapering.
Methods
Participants with RA who had experience of taking a bDMARD completed an online discrete choice experiment. Participants were asked their preferences when given three hypothetical treatment scenarios where varying the frequency of treatment, might alter their chance of adverse effects, of regaining disease control, and of other healthcare service-related effects. Preference weights were estimated using a multinomial logit model.
Results
There were 142 complete responses. Reduced dosing frequency of bDMARDs treatment had the largest impact on preference (mean:1.0, 95%CI 0.8-1.2), followed by chance of disease flare (mean:0.7, 95%CI 0.6-0.9). Participants were willing to accept an increased risk of flare between 10.6% (95%CI 3.2-17.9) and 60.6% (95%CI 48.1-72.9) in exchange for benefits associated with tapering bDMARDs. Participants with better quality of life were more likely to choose to remain on current treatment. The predicted uptake of bDMARD tapering was high among people with RA, suggesting bDMARD tapering was a favoured option.
Conclusion
For individuals with RA, making decisions about tapering bDMARDs involves considering several factors, with the most important determinants identified as dosing frequency and the risk of disease flare. Understanding patient perspectives of bDMARD tapering may enable physicians to make patient-focused shared healthcare decisions.