Demographic and clinical features of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Values are the mean ± SD except for disease duration, which are median (range), and presence of RF, anti-CCP, erosive disease, HLA-DRB1 SE, and different drug treatments, which are n (%).
| Features | Patients at Diagnosis, n = 32 | Patients with Established Disease, n = 164 |
|---|---|---|
| Age at diagnosis, yrs | 54.23 ± 16.19 | 56.15 ± 14.72 |
| Men/women | 9/23 | 46/118 |
| DAS28 | 5.93 ± 0.94 | 3.34 ± 1.36** |
| Number of swollen joints | 7.31 ± 3.54 | 1.63 ± 1.95** |
| Number of tender joints | 12.41 ± 5.39 | 3.59 ± 4.59** |
| Duration of morning stiffness, min | 107.96 ± 97.56 | 22.74 ± 42.55** |
| Patient global assessment | 58.86 ± 22.79 | 25.08 ± 21.59** |
| Patient assessment of pain | 5.89 ± 2.36 | 2.56 ± 2.36** |
| HAQ | 1.42 ± 0.68 | 0.60 ± 0.57** |
| CRP, mg/dl | 2.39 ± 3.00 | 0.66 ± 0.92* |
| ESR, mm/h | 37.94 ± 24.38 | 29.32 ± 19.39 |
| Presence of HLA-DRB1 SE | 18 (62.1) | 79 (52.0) |
| RF positivity | 18 (56.3) | 100 (60.4) |
| Anti-CCP positivity | 15 (46.9) | 99 (59.3) |
| Erosive disease | 3 (18.8) | 35 (32.1) |
| Disease duration, mo (range) | 18 (2–61) | |
| Treatment | ||
| Methotrexate | 128 (81.0) | |
| Prednisone | 123 (77.8) | |
| Leflunomide | 59 (37.3) | |
| Etanercept | 13 (8.2) | |
| Adalimumab | 6 (3.8) | |
| Chloroquine | 1 (0.6) | |
| Sulfasalazine | 1 (0.6) |
Differences between patient groups were evaluated using the chi-square test for categorical variables and Student’s t-test or the Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables.
↵* p = 0.004;
↵** p < 0.0001. RF: rheumatoid factor; CCP: cyclic citrullinated peptide; DAS28: 28-joint-count Disease Activity Score; HAQ: Health Assessment Questionnaire; CRP: C-reactive protein; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate.