[Correspondence] Early screening for rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease: statistical nuances challenge the role of disease activity – Authors' reply

We thank Suhai Qian and colleagues for their interest in our investigation of rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD) risk factors in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis.1 We agree that additional, large prospective studies are needed in this critical rheumatoid arthritis period. Qian and colleagues suggest that findings from our sensitivity analyses cast doubt on the observed association between rheumatoid arthritis disease activity and rheumatoid arthritis-associated ILD, a previously identified ILD risk factor in established rheumatoid arthritis.