Characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis patients at disease onset, grouped by occurrence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) event and all-cause mortality during followup.
| All, | Incident CVD Event | All-cause Mortality | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 741 | Yes, n = 177 | No, n = 564 | Died, n = 151 | Survived, n = 590 | |
| Age, years | 55.0 ± 14.7 | 65.9 ± 11.8*** | 51.5 ± 13.8 | 67.5 ± 11.4*** | 51.8 ± 13.7 |
| Females, % | 67.5 | 55.9*** | 71.1 | 57.0** | 70.2 |
| Smoking ever vs never, % | 58.7 | 59.9 | 58.3 | 68.9** | 56.1 |
| Hypertension, % | 16.7 | 31.6*** | 12.1 | 28.5*** | 13.7 |
| Diabetes mellitus, % | 5.1 | 9.3** | 3.8 | 9.5** | 3.9 |
| Hyperlipidemia, % | 0.8 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 |
| RF positivity, % | 59.5 | 62.9 | 58.3 | 67.6* | 57.3 |
| ACPA positivity, % | 55.5 | 53.3 | 56.2 | 56 | 55.4 |
| CRP, mg/l | 19 (6–46) | 23 (10–54)** | 17 (6–43) | 27 (12–59)*** | 17 (6–42) |
| ESR, mm/h | 36 ± 26 | 38 ± 25 | 35 ± 27 | 41 ± 26** | 34 ± 26 |
| WBC | 8.2 ± 2.6 | 8.7 ± 2.7** | 8.1 ± 2.6 | 8.9 ± 2.9*** | 8.0 ± 2.5 |
| DAS28 | 5.1 ± 1.3 | 5.1 ± 1.3 | 5.1 ± 1.3 | 5.2 ± 1.4 | 5.1 ± 1.2 |
| HAQ | 0.99 ± 0.62 | 1.0 ± 0.67 | 0.98 ± 0.60 | 1.09 ± 0.70* | 0.96 ± 0.59 |
| VAS pain, mm | 45.3 ± 24.1 | 45.0 ± 25.5 | 45.4 ± 23.6 | 43.8 ± 26.4 | 45.7 ± 23.4 |
| DMARD, start, % | 84.1 | 75.7*** | 86.7 | 80.8 | 84.9 |
| MTX, start, % | 43.7 | 39.6 | 44.8 | 42.6 | 43.9 |
| GC, start % | 51.4 | 55.9 | 50.0 | 57.6 | 49.8 |
Values are mean ± SD or medians (IQR) depending on values distribution. P values for between-group differences:
↵* p < 0.05;
↵** p ≤ 0.01;
↵*** p ≤ 0.001. CVD: cardiovascular disease; RF: rheumatoid factor; ACPA: anticitrullinated peptide antibody; CRP: C-reactive protein; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; WBC: white blood (cell) count; DAS28: Disease Activity Score in 28 joints; HAQ: Health Assessment Questionnaire; VAS pain: visual analog scale for pain; DMARD: disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; MTX: methotrexate; GC: glucocorticoids.