Baseline characteristics of subject subsets using 150 day, and very early versus very late cutoff times. Data are mean (SD) unless otherwise indicated.
| Cutpoint | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 150 Days (5 months) | Very Early | Very Late | ||
| Characteristic | Early, < 150 Days | Late, ≥ 150 Days | Early, < 90 Days (< 3 mo) | Late, ≥ 300 Days (≥ 10 mo) |
| No. (n = 233) | 110 | 123 | 51 | 49 |
| Female, % | 77 | 76 | 76 | 69 |
| Age, yrs | 51.5 (12.4) | 49.4 (13.1) | 53.3 (11.1) | 48.1 (14.11)* |
| Time to first DMARD, mo | 3.1 (1.3) | 9.1 (3.0) | 1.9 (0.7) | 12.2 (1.9) |
| Tender joint count, 0–69 | 23.5 (14.3) | 22.7 (12.0) | 19.6 (12.5) | 23.1 (13.9) |
| Swollen joint count, 0–66 | 20.0 (11.4) | 19.2 (10.1) | 23.4 (15.5) | 20.9 (11.3) |
| Physician global assessment, 0–100 scale | 52.5 (21.03) | 47.7 (20.50) | 52.3 (21.16) | 48.3 (20.5) |
| Patient global assessment, 0–100 scale | 44.3 (28.3) | 43.3 (27.9) | 46.3 (27.3) | 45.7 (26.9) |
| Disease activity score (DAS-44-ESR) | 4.73 (1.18) | 4.76 (1.16) | 4.60 (1.33) | 4.92 (1.19) |
| Health Assessment Questionnaire, 0–3 | 1.35 (0.72) | 1.09 (0.68)** | 1.41 (0.71) | 1.03 (0.56)** |
| Rheumatoid factor titer, IU/ml | 360.44 (405.9) | 389.3 (624.0) | 385.3 (428.5) | 399.9 (724.2) |
| Anti-CCP (no. positive/total), % positive | 43/48 (90) | 60/69 (87) | 19/21 (90) | 25/28 (89) |
| C-reactive protein, mg/dl | 2.95 (3.57) | 2.90 (4.01) | 2.74 (3.36) | 2.9 (3.79) |
| Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mm/h | 41.4 (23.1) | 41.0 (26.3) | 41.3 (24.5) | 48.0 (30.4) |
| Erosion score | 1.49 (2.18) | 2.60 (4.74) | 1.55 (2.45) | 3.59 (4.29)** |
| Joint space narrowing score | 3.78 (4.51) | 4.07 (6.80) | 4.50 (4.73) | 4.94 (8.84) |
| Total Sharp Score | 5.27 (5.69) | 6.67 (9.97) | 6.06 (6.43) | 8.53 (12.32) |
↵* Significantly different at p < 0.05, earlier versus later institution of DMARD, using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous variables and chi-square test for categorical variables.
↵** Significantly different at p < 0.01, earlier versus later institution of DMARD, using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous variables and chi-square test for categorical variables.