Baseline characteristics of the study sample from the BRASS Cohort by alcohol consumption. Total sample size was 615 after 47 patients without alcohol intake data were excluded.
| Alcohol Intake, g/day | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | None, n = 205 | 0.1–5.0 g/day, n = 239 | 5.1–10.0 g/day, n = 63 | > 10 g/day, n = 108 | p |
| Age, yrs, mean ± SD | 60.2 ± 13.1 | 55.0 ± 12.7 | 52.0 ± 14.1 | 60.0 ± 13.0 | < 0.001 |
| Sex (female), % | 87.3 | 85.4 | 81.0 | 70.4 | < 0.001 |
| Race (white), % | 88.1 | 97.0 | 98.4 | 98.2 | < 0.001 |
| Education (high school graduate or higher), % | 48.3 | 64.4 | 76.2 | 73.8 | < 0.001 |
| Smoking status, % | |||||
| Never smokers | 55.1 | 53.6 | 50.8 | 38.0 | 0.02 |
| Past smokers | 36.6 | 39.3 | 36.5 | 52.8 | |
| Current smokers | 8.3 | 7.1 | 12.7 | 9.3 | |
| Smoking pack-yrs, mean ± SD | 9.9 ± 16.7 | 10.5 ± 21.4 | 6.4 ± 12.5 | 12.5 ± 17.7 | 0.04 |
| DAS28-CRP3, mean ± SD | 4.33 ± 1.61 | 3.93 ± 1.44 | 3.84 ± 1.70 | 3.97 ± 1.50 | 0.02 |
| MHAQ, mean ± SD | 0.56 ± 0.54 | 0.36 ± 0.40 | 0.31 ± 0.44 | 0.36 ± 0.38 | < 0.001 |
| Disease duration, yrs, mean ± SD | 17.6 ± 12.5 | 14.7 ± 12.4 | 11.1 ± 11.0 | 14.2 ± 12.0 | < 0.001 |
| HLA-SE carrier, % | 61.0 | 69.0 | 63.5 | 57.4 | 0.52 |
| BMI, kg/m2, mean ± SD | 28.1 ± 6.3 | 26.5 ± 5.3 | 25.8 ± 5.3 | 25.1 ± 3.9 | < 0.001 |
| Seropositive, % | 80.1 | 72.8 | 66.7 | 65.7 | 0.003 |
| Prednisone, % | 36.1 | 31.0 | 23.8 | 23.2 | 0.01 |
| Methotrexate, % | 52.7 | 53.1 | 38.1 | 34.3 | < 0.001 |
| Antimalarial, % | 16.6 | 14.6 | 19.0 | 15.7 | 0.98 |
| Other DMARD, % | 20.5 | 14.2 | 23.8 | 20.4 | 0.74 |
| Biologic DMARD, % | 36.1 | 41.8 | 44.4 | 36.1 | 0.82 |
| NSAID, % | 62.0 | 61.1 | 81.0 | 63.0 | 0.03 |
Some measurements were missing at baseline (race, n = 609; education, n = 612; and anti-CCP, n = 605). DAS28-CRP3: Disease Activity Score using 28 joints with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; MHAQ: Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire; BMI: body mass index; DMARD: disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (biologic DMARD refers to all kinds of anti-tumor necrosis factor, anti-interleukin 1, or anti-B cell agents); NSAID: nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug; anti-CCP: anticyclic citrullinated peptide.