Demographics and disease activity at inclusion in the BARFOT study. Values are mean (SD) unless stated otherwise.
| Characteristic | All Patients, n = 1587 | Disease Duration > 6 wks ≤ 12 wks (n = 180) | Disease Duration 13–24 wks (n = 604) | Disease Duration 25–52 wks (n = 803) | p* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age at inclusion, yrs | 58 (15) | 60 (15) | 60 (15) | 56 (16) | 0.0001 |
| Disease duration, mo | 5.8 (2.8) | 1.8 (0.4) | 3.9 (0.8) | 8.0 (1.9) | 0.0001 |
| Disease duration, wks | 27 (12) | 9.8 (1.5) | 19 (3.4) | 36 (7.9) | 0.0001 |
| Percentage women | 68 | 63 | 66 | 70 | 0.16 |
| RF, % | 61 | 57 | 58 | 65 | 0.01 |
| Anti-CCP (%) | 336/567 (59) | 43/69 (62) | 118/189 (62) | 177/309 (57) | 0.57 |
| ESR, mm | 40 (25) | 47 (27) | 38 (25) | 34 (25) | 0.0001 |
| CRP, mg/l | 34 (38) | 47 (50) | 34 (38) | 30 (33) | 0.0001 |
| Tender joints 28 | 8.2 (6.3) | 9.4 (6.9) | 8.5 (6.4) | 7.8 (6.0) | 0.002 |
| Swollen joints 28 | 11 (5.7) | 12.0 (5.9) | 10.7 (5.7) | 9.9 (5.5) | 0.0001 |
| VAS pain, mm | 47 (24) | 53 (25) | 47 (24) | 46 (23) | 0.008 |
| VAS global, mm | 46 (25) | 50 (27) | 46 (25) | 45 (25) | 0.07 |
| HAQ | 1.04 (0.66) | 1.32 (0.75) | 1.06 (0.66) | 0.95 (0.62) | 0.0001 |
| DAS28 | 5.3 (1.2) | 5.7 (1.2) | 5.4 (1.2) | 5.1 (1.2) | 0.0001 |
| Methotrexate at inclusion, % | 47 | 48 | 50 | 44 | 0.12 |
| Glucocorticoids at inclusion, % | 33 | 36 | 36 | 30 | 0.046 |
| DMARD at inclusion, % | 80 | 83 | 80 | 80 | 0.59 |
| Current smokers at inclusion, % | 24 | 26 | 23 | 24 | 0.29 |
| Previous smokers at inclusion, % | 32 | 31 | 35 | 30 | 0.29 |
↵* Between the 3 categories of disease duration. RF: rheumatoid factor; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP: C-reactive protein; VAS: visual analog scale; HAQ: Health Assessment Questionnaire; DMARD: disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; DAS28: Disease Activity Score (28 joints).