Characteristics of 2981 survey participants from two population-based samples
| Characteristics | 2017 Sample | 2019 Sample | Combined Samples |
| (n=973) | (n=2008) | (n=2981) | |
| Sociodemographics | n(%) (unless otherwise noted) | ||
| Age, mean±SD | 66.0±9.6 | 66.9±9.7 | 66.6±9.7 |
| Race/ethnicity | |||
| Black | 31 (3%) | 48 (2%) | 79 (3%) |
| Hispanic | 16 (2%) | 24 (1%) | 40 (1%) |
| Asian/other | 38 (4%) | 61 (3%) | 99 (3%) |
| White, non-Hispanic | 888 (91%) | 1875 (93%) | 2763 (93%) |
| Currently employed | 407 (42%) | 716 (36%) | 1123 (38%) |
| Cigarette Smoking | |||
| Never smoked | 452 (46%) | 845 (42%) | 1297 (44%) |
| Former smoker | 394 (40%) | 832 (41%) | 1226 (41%) |
| Current/recent smoker | 127 (13%) | 331 (16%) | 458 (15%) |
| Among ever smokers | |||
| Years smoked, median (IQR) | 25 (12–40) | 25 (13–40) | 25 (12–40) |
| Pack-years, mean±SD | 29.8±28.8 | 32.0±30.3 | 31.3±29.8 |
| Arthritis | |||
| No dx of arthritis reported | 456 (47%) | 837 (42%) | 1293 (43%) |
| Any arthritis dx reported | 517 (53%) | 1171 (58%) | 1688 (56%) |
| Arthritis, excluding RA | 329 (34%) | 759 (38%) | 1088 (37%) |
| Any RA reported | 188 (19%) | 412 (21%) | 600 (20%) |
| RA, with glucocorticoids | 112 (12%) | 202 (10%) | 314 (11%) |
| RA, with DMARD | – | 88 (4%) | – |
| RA, with DMARD and glucocorticoids | – | 62 (3%) | – |
| Exposures | |||
| Any coal mining exposure | 181 (19%) | 409 (20%) | 590 (20%) |
| Years coal mining, median (IQR) | 19 (7–30) | 17 (5–30) | 18 (5–30) |
| Underground mining | 133 (14%) | 263 (13%) | 396 (13%) |
| Surface mining | 97 (10%) | 210 (10%) | 307 (10%) |
| High intensity silica coal mining jobs | – | 258 (13%) | – |
| Silica exposure, not from coal mining | 264 (27%) | 557 (28%) | 821 (28%) |
| Ergonomic exposure score, median (IQR) | – | 2 (0–3) | – |
| Ergonomic score=0 | – | 613 (31%) | – |
| Ergonomic score=1 | – | 326 (16%) | – |
| Ergonomic score=2–3 | – | 613 (31%) | – |
| Ergonomic score=4–5 | 456 (23%) | ||
All participants male, ≥50 years old. Missing data for years smoking: 14 (2017), 23 (2019); see the Methods section for drugs included.
DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; RA, rheumatoid arthritis.