Clinical characteristics in patients with and without coronary atherosclerosis (CA).
| Controls, n = 35 | RA Patients, n = 70 | p | Without CA†, n = 55 | With CA††, n = 15 | p | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yrs | 53.5 ± 8.7 | 54.7 ± 11.4 | 0.58 | 51.5 ± 16.2 | 66.2 ± 6.9 | <0.01** | |
| Male sex, n (%) | 5 (14.2) | 12 (17.1) | 0.78 | 8 (14.5) | 4 (26.7) | 0.27 | |
| Duration of disease, yrs | — | 12.7 ± 10.7 | — | 11.7 ± 10.7 | 16.5 ± 10.1 | 0.12 | |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 2 (5.7) | 15 (21.4) | 0.05 | 8 (14.5) | 7 (46.7) | 0.01* | |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 0 (0) | 2 (2.9) | 1.0 | 1 (1.8) | 1 (6.7) | 0.39 | |
| Hyperlipidemia, n (%) | 0 (0) | 2 (2.9) | 1.0 | 2 (3.6) | 0 (0) | 1.0 | |
| Smoker, n (%) | 4 (11.4) | 9 (12.9) | 1.0 | 5 (9.1) | 4 (26.7) | 0.09 | |
| SBP, mm Hg | 120.5 ± 15.6 | 126.9 ± 19.3 | 0.82 | 122.5 ± 18.1 | 143.3 ± 14.2 | <0.01** | |
| DBP, mm Hg | 74.0 ± 13.2 | 75.0 ± 11.1 | 0.76 | 73.4 ± 10.7 | 80.8 ± 10.9 | 0.03* | |
| CRP, mg/dl | 1.0 ± 0.8 | 1.3 ± 1.9 | 0.21 | 1.1 ± 1.6 | 1.8 ± 2.7 | 0.33 | |
| Triglyceride, mmol/l | 1.1 ± 0.5 | 1.3 ± 0.7 | 0.15 | 1.2 ± 0.7 | 1.4 ± 0.5 | 0.36 | |
| Total cholesterol, mmol/l | 5.1 ± 0.7 | 5.0 ± 1.2 | 0.31 | 4.8 ± 1.1 | 5.4 ± 1.3 | 0.15 | |
| HDL, mmol/l | 1.7 ± 0.4 | 1.6 ± 0.4 | 0.06 | 1.5 ± 0.4 | 1.7 ± 0.3 | 0.11 | |
| LDL, mmol/l | 1.6 ± 0.4 | 2.8 ± 0.9 | 0.68 | 2.8 ± 0.8 | 3.1 ± 1.1 | 0.26 | |
| Serum creatinine, μg/l | 60.2 ± 15.2 | 66.3 ± 16.7 | 0.57 | 64.6 ± 29.4 | 68.2 ± 17.2 | 0.12 | |
| Rheumatoid factor, n (%) | — | 49 (70) | — | 39 (70.9) | 10 (66.7) | 0.76 | |
| Taking NSAID, n (%) | — | 11 (15.7) | — | 10 (18.2) | 1 (6.7) | 0.44 | |
| Taking Prednisolone, n (%) | — | 12 (17.1) | — | 8 (14.5) | 4 (26.7) | 0.27 | |
| Taking DMARD, n (%) | — | 47 (67.1) | — | 37 (67.3) | 10 (66.7) | 1.00 | |
| Hydroxychloroquine, n (%) | — | 28 (40) | — | 23 (41.8) | 5 (33.3) | 0.76 | |
| Methotrexate, n (%) | — | 31 (44.3) | — | 25 (45.4) | 6 (40) | 0.78 | |
| Sulfasalazine, n (%) | — | 14 (20) | — | 9 (16.4) | 5 (33.3) | 0.16 | |
| Leflunomide, n (%) | — | 2 (2.9) | — | 2 (3.6) | 0 (0) | 1.00 | |
| Endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) | p (a) | p (b) | |||||
| CD34+ EPC, % | 4.95 ± 3.31 | 6.28 ± 4.75 | 0.10 | 6.02 ± 3.95 | 7.21 ± 7.06 | 0.53 | 0.25 |
| CD34/KDR+ EPC, % | 2.54 ± 2.78 | 2.73 ± 3.16 | 0.76 | 2.83 ± 3.35 | 2.35 ± 2.38 | 0.54 | 0.80 |
| CD133+ EPC, % | 1.20 ± 1.12 | 1.12 ± 0.78 | 0.47 | 1.22 ± 0.83 | 0.74 ± 0.39 | <0.01** | <0.01** |
| CD133/KDR+ EPC, % | 0.91 ± 0.37 | 0.79 ± 0.75 | 0.28 | 0.89 ± 0.81 | 0.45 ± 0.28 | <0.01** | <0.01** |
↵* p , 0.05,
↵** p < 0.01.
↵† Coronary calcium score (CCS) negative: Agatston score < 10;
↵†† CCS positive: Agatston score ≥ 10; CA: coronary calcium score positive:Agatston score > 10. p (a): RA patients with or without CA; p (b): control vs RA patients with CA. SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; HDL: high density lipoprotein; LDL: low density lipoprotein; CRP: C-reactive protein; NSAID: nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug; DMARD: disease modifying antirheumatoid drug.