All Patients | Anti-TNF-α | Methotrexate | p | |
---|---|---|---|---|
No. of patients | 51 | 30 | 21 | |
Age, yrs | 56 ± 11 | 57 ± 11 | 54 ± 11 | 0.321 |
Female/male, n | 43/8 | 26/4 | 17/4 | 0.86 |
Disease duration, yrs | 10 ± 9.5 | 14 ± 10 | 4 ± 3 | < 0.0001 |
No. RF-positive (%) | 37 (72.5) | 23 (77) | 14 (67) | 0.635 |
Erosions, n (%) | 32 (63) | 20 (67) | 15 (71) | 0.962 |
Current smokers, n (%) | 11 (21) | 6 (20) | 5 (24) | 1 |
No. tender joints | 17 ± 8 | 21 ± 6 | 11 ± 7 | < 0.0001 |
No. swollen joints | 9 ± 5 | 9 ± 4 | 8 ± 5 | 0.465 |
DMARD at baseline, n (%) | 37 (72.5) | 22 (73) | 15 (71) | 0.835 |
Prednisolone dose, mg | 1.2 ± 2.2 | 1.6 ± 2.6 | 0.5 ± 1.5 | 0.087 |
On NSAID, n (%) | 39 (76) | 21 (70) | 18 (86) | 0.167 |
Log10CRP, mg/l | 1.28 ± 0.44 | 1.31 ± 0.45 | 1.24 ± 0.43 | 0.586 |
PV, mPa.s | 1.8 ± 0.17 | 1.84 ± 0.18 | 1.78 ± 0.17 | 0.250 |
DAS28 | 6.04 ± 1.2 | 6.51 ± 0.68 | 5.36 ± 1.37 | < 0.0001 |
HAQ | 1.71 ± 0.7 | 1.97 ± 0.52 | 1.33 ± 0.7 | < 0.0001 |
ACh AUC | 168,205 ± 81,542 | 149,751 ± 76,409 | 194,566 ± 83,165 | 0.05 |
SNP AUC | 111,664 ± 66,156 | 91,854 ± 66,074 | 139,963 ± 56,404 | 0.009 |
Values are mean ± SD. p value represents significance for comparisons between the methotrexate and anti-TNF-α groups. RF: rheumatoid factor; DMARD: disease modifying antirheumatic drug; CRP: C-reactive protein; PV: plasma viscosity; DAS28: Disease Activity Score of 28 joints; HAQ: Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire; ACh AUC: acetylcholine area under the curve; SNP AUC: sodium nitroprusside area under the curve.