Description of baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of the 406 DMARD-naive patients.
| Characteristics No. patients | Patients with RA | Patients with UA | p | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 310 | %* | 96 | %* | ||
| Demographic variables | |||||
| Female, n (%) | 215 (69) | 100 | 59 (62) | 100 | 0.15 |
| Age, yrs, mean (SD) | 60 (16) | 100 | 52 (16) | 100 | < 0.001 |
| Duration of symptoms, months, median (IQR) | 6 (3–12) | 98 | 6 (4–12) | 99 | 0.88 |
| Disease characteristics | |||||
| RF-positive, n (%) | 219 (71) | 100 | 23 (24) | 100 | < 0.001 |
| Anti-CCP-positive, n (%) | 207 (67) | 100 | 21 (22) | 99 | < 0.001 |
| RF/anti-CCP-positive, n (%) | 249 (80) | 100 | 28 (30) | 99 | < 0.001 |
| Erosive disease at baseline, n (%) | 74 (24.3) | 98 | 0 | 100 | < 0.001 |
| PRO and disease activity at baseline | |||||
| HAQ (0–3), median (IQR) | 1.0 (0.5–1.4) | 76 | 0.6 (0.3–1.1) | 77 | 0.002 |
| Pain (0–100), median (IQR) | 50 (28–64) | 78 | 40 (24–61) | 80 | 0.075 |
| Fatigue (0–100), median (IQR) | 42 (18–65) | 75 | 37 (20–62) | 76 | 0.44 |
| Morning stiffness, 0–10 h, median (IQR) | 1.0 (0.3–3) | 78 | 1.0 (0.3–2) | 77 | 0.24 |
| DAS28, mean (SD) | 4.3 (1.3) | 73 | 3.2 (1.3) | 74 | < 0.001 |
| DAS28(3 variables), mean (SD) | 4.1 (1.3) | 95 | 3.1 (1.2) | 97 | < 0.001 |
| CRP, mg/l, mean (SD) | 17 (24) | 100 | 14 (21) | 100 | 0.048 |
| ESR, mm/h, mean (SD) | 26 (21) | 99 | 21 (22) | 100 | 0.002 |
| PtGA (0–100), median (IQR) | 46 (27–57) | 76 | 21 (14–30) | 76 | 0.001 |
| PGA (0–100), median (IQR) | 35 (20–50) | 45 | 21 (14–30) | 44 | < 0.001 |
| TJC28, mean (SD) | 5.1 (4.9) | 95 | 2.3 (2.4) | 97 | < 0.001 |
| SJC28, mean (SD) | 5.3 (5.0) | 95 | 1.8 (2.1) | 98 | < 0.001 |
| TJC46, mean (SD) | 8.9 (7.0) | 95 | 4.3 (3.5) | 97 | < 0.001 |
| SJC46, mean (SD) | 8.6 (6.7) | 95 | 2.9 (2.9) | 98 | < 0.001 |
↵* Percentages refer to the percentage of patients with data available. DMARD: disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; RA: rheumatoid arthritis; UA: undifferentiated arthritis; IQR: interquartile range; RF: rheumatoid factor; anti-CCP: anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies; PRO: patient-reported outcomes; HAQ: Health Assessment Questionnaire; DAS28: 28-joint Disease Activity Score; CRP: C-reactive protein; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; PtGA: patient’s global assessment; PGA: physician’s global assessment; TJC28: 28-joint tender joint count; SJC28: 28-joint swollen joint count; TJC46: 46-joint TJC; SJC46: 46-joint SJC.