Baseline patient characteristics and sex differences.
| Variable | Male, median (IQR) | Female, median (IQR) | Mean Difference (95% CI) | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 62 (54–70) | 59 (50–67) | −2.79 (–3.76– –1.81) | 2.13 × 10−9 †* |
| Duration, yrs | 8 (4–14) | 10 (5–16) | 1.55 (0.87–2.22) | 4.77 × 10−6 †* |
| DAS28 | 2.94 (2.11–3.89) | 3.45 (2.67–4.30) | 0.50 (0.41–0.59) | 9.06 × 10−24 †* |
| DAS28-CRP | 2.59 (1.90–3.39) | 2.76 (2.02–3.59) | 0.17 (0.08–0.25) | 2.10 × 10−4 †* |
| HAQ | 0.25 (0–0.875) | 0.63 (0.13–1.38) | 0.33 (0.27–0.39) | 1.04 × 10−33 †* |
| TJC45 | 1 (0–2) | 1 (0–3) | 0.75 (0.39–1.10) | 8.00 × 10−8 †* |
| SJC45 | 1 (0–2) | 1 (0–3) | 0.61 (0.35–0.87) | 3.49 × 10−9 †* |
| Patient pain VAS | 18 (5–43) | 23 (8–51) | 4.49 (2.49–6.49) | 2.89 × 10−6 †* |
| Patient global VAS | 21 (7–48.5) | 25 (9–52) | 3.91 (1.98–5.85) | 3.62 × 10−5 †* |
| Physician global VAS | 9 (2–19) | 10 (3–23) | 1.99 (0.81–3.17) | 4.22 × 10−4 †* |
| CRP, mg/dl | 0.5 (0.2–1.3) | 0.5 (0.2–1.2) | −0.1 (–0.21–0.02) | 0.02† |
| ESR, mm/h | 17.9 (8.7–34.8) | 27.6 (16.1–45) | 7.37 (5.67–9.07) | 3.34 × 10−29 †* |
| RF, IU/ml | 70.5 (16–215) | 59 (19–148) | −41.27 (–62.73– –19.82) | 0.13† |
| MTX dose, mg/wk | 6 (4–8) | 6 (4–8) | −0.12 (–0.36–0.12) | 0.19† |
| PSL dose, mg/day | 5 (3–6) | 4 (3–5) | −0.52 (–0.72– –0.31) | 3.2 × 10−3 †* |
| DMARD, mean use | 88.1% | 90.2% | 0.07†† | |
| MTX, mean use | 49.4% | 56.1% | 5.94 × 10−4 ††* | |
| PSL, mean use | 51.3% | 53.7% | 0.23†† |
IQR: interquartile range; DMARD: disease modifying antirheumatic drug; MTX: methotrexate; PSL: prednisolone; DAS: Disease Activity Score; CRP: C-reactive protein; HAQ: Health Assessment Questionnaire; TJC: tender joint count; SJC: swollen joint count; VAS: visual analog scale; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; RF: rheumatoid factor.
↵† Mann-Whitney U-test;
↵†† Fisher exact test.
↵* Statistical significance (p < 0.01).