Main clinical characteristics of patients with early spondyloarthritis (SpA). All values are n (%) unless otherwise specified.
| Clinical Characteristics | n = 140 |
|---|---|
| Demographics | |
| Men | 97 (69) |
| Age, yrs, mean (SD) | 41 (10) |
| Race, white | 118 (84) |
| Educational level, high/low | 82 (59)/58 (41) |
| Types of SpA | |
| Ankylosing spondylitis | 103 (74) |
| Undifferentiated SpA | 21 (15) |
| SpA and inflammatory bowel disease | 4 (3) |
| Reactive arthritis | 2 (1) |
| Psoriatic arthritis | 10 (7) |
| Disease characteristics | |
| Disease duration, yrs, mean (SD) | 4.8 (2.7) |
| HLA-B27 positivity | 110 (80) |
| CRP, mg/l, < 10, median (IQR) | 4.0 (2.0–12.0) |
| ESR, mm/h, < 20, median (IQR) | 10.0 (5.0–20.3) |
| BASDAI, 0–10, median (IQR) | 3.0 (1.7–4.8) |
| BASFI, 0–10, median (IQR) | 2.2 (0.8–3.8) |
| BASMI, 0–10, median (IQR) | 1.0 (0.0–2.0) |
| MASES, 0–39, median (IQR) | 3.0 (0.0–5.0) |
| mSASSS, 0–72, median (IQR) | 3.0 (1.0–6.3) |
| Uveitis history | 38 (27.1) |
| Psoriasis history | 14 (10.0) |
| Inflammatory bowel disease history | 5 (3.6) |
| Peripheral arthritis history | 45 (32.1) |
| Current medication | |
| NSAID | 124 (88.6) |
| DMARD | 8 (5.7) |
| TNF-α blockers | 14 (10.0) |
Educational level high: high school, preuniversity education, higher vocational education, and university. Educational level low: elementary education, lower vocational education, and intermediate vocational education. CRP: C-reactive protein; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; BASDAI: Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index; BASFI: Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index; BASMI: Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index; MASES: Maastricht Ankylosing Spondylitis Enthesitis Score; mSASSS: modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spinal Score; NSAID: nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug; DMARD: disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-α.