Characteristics of study subjects. Significant differences between the RA and non-RA cohorts overall included smoking status (p = 0.002) and hyperlipidemia (p = 0.01). Significant differences between decades among the RA cohorts included smoking status, obesity, hyperlipidemia, use of lipid-lowering medications, ESR, time from RA incidence to initiation of the first DMARD, use in the first year and ever use of methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine, other DMARD, biologics, glucocorticoids, NSAID, and COX-2 inhibitors (all p < 0.001). Significant differences between decades among the non-RA cohorts included smoking status (p = 0.008), obesity (p < 0.001), hyperlipidemia (p < 0.001), use of lipid-lowering medications (p < 0.001), hypertension (p = 0.024), use of antihypertensives (p = 0.009), and NSAID (p = 0.003). Values are n (%) unless otherwise specified.
| Characteristics | RA Cohort | Non-RA Cohort | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall, n = 813 | 1980–1989, n = 202 | 1990–1999, n = 296 | 2000–2007, n = 315 | Overall, n = 813 | 1980–1989, n = 202 | 1990–1999, n = 296 | 2000–2007, n = 315 | |
| Age, yrs, mean (± SD) | 55.9 (15.7) | 57.4 (15.8) | 56.1 (15.8) | 54.6 (15.4) | 55.9 (15.7) | 57.4 (15.8) | 56.2 (15.8) | 54.6 (15.4) |
| Female | 556 (68) | 138 (68) | 195 (66) | 223 (71) | 556 (68) | 138 (68) | 195 (66) | 223 (71) |
| Cigarette smoking at RA incidence | ||||||||
| Never smoked | 364 (45) | 79 (39) | 123 (42) | 162 (51) | 435 (54) | 101 (50) | 165 (56) | 169 (54) |
| Current smoking | 178 (22) | 68 (34) | 59 (20) | 51 (16) | 144 (18) | 52 (26) | 39 (13) | 52 (17) |
| Former smoking | 271 (33) | 55 (27) | 114 (38) | 102 (32) | 234 (29) | 49 (24) | 92 (31) | 93 (30) |
| Obesity at RA incidence, BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 | 244 (30) | 34 (17) | 83 (28) | 127 (40) | 229 (28) | 30 (14) | 70 (24) | 129 (41) |
| CV risk factors at incidence/index | ||||||||
| Hypertension | 313 (38) | 78 (39) | 103 (35) | 132 (42) | 278 (34) | 66 (33) | 87 (29) | 125 (40) |
| Antihypertensive medication use | 226 (28) | 51 (25) | 73 (25) | 102 (32) | 210 (26) | 52 (26) | 60 (20) | 98 (31) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 80 (10) | 22 (11) | 23 (8) | 35 (11) | 68 (8) | 15 (7) | 18 (6) | 35 (11) |
| Hyperlipidemia | 445 (55) | 83 (41) | 170 (57) | 192 (61) | 394 (48) | 63 (31) | 145 (49) | 186 (59) |
| Lipid-lowering medication use | 114 (14) | 1 (1) | 35 (12) | 78 (25) | 107 (13) | 4 (2) | 29 (10) | 74 (24) |
| CHD at RA incidence/index | 89 (11) | 23 (11) | 35 (12) | 31 (10) | 90 (11) | 18 (9) | 36 (12) | 36 (11) |
| RA disease characteristics | ||||||||
| RF positivity at incidence/index | 537 (66) | 132 (65) | 198 (67) | 207 (66) | ||||
| ExRA during the first yr | 32 (4) | 7 (4) | 12 (4) | 13 (4) | ||||
| Highest ESR during the first yr of RA incidence, mm/h, mean (± SD) | 32.7 (25.7) | 38.9 (27.5) | 31.6 (25.1) | 29.9 (24.6) | ||||
| Erosions/destructive changes during the first yr of RA incidence | 219 (27) | 51 (25) | 73 (25) | 95 (30) | ||||
| Time from RA incidence date to first DMARD, mos, median (IQR) | 0.8 (0.0–5.3) | 4.5 (0.8–23.3) | 0.9 (0.1–5.3) | 0.5 (0.0–1.6) | ||||
| Antirheumatic medication use during the first yr of RA incidence | ||||||||
| Methotrexate | 261 (32) | 4 (2) | 83 (28) | 174 (55) | ||||
| Hydroxychloroquine | 362 (44) | 50 (25) | 133 (45) | 179 (57) | ||||
| Other DMARD | 127 (16) | 56 (28) | 44 (15) | 27 (9) | ||||
| Biologics | 36 (4) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.3) | 35 (11) | ||||
| Glucocorticoids | 445 (55) | 53 (26) | 177 (60) | 215 (68) | ||||
| NSAID | 698 (86) | 159 (79) | 276 (93) | 263 (84) | 104 (13) | 11 (5) | 44 (15) | 49 (16) |
| COX-2 inhibitors | 198 (24) | 0 (0) | 32 (11) | 166 (53) | 32 (4) | 1 (0.5) | 3 (1) | 28 (9) |
| Antirheumatic medication use ever during followup | ||||||||
| Methotrexate | 495 (61) | 86 (43) | 188 (64) | 221 (70) | ||||
| Hydroxychloroquine | 496 (61) | 97 (48) | 188 (64) | 211 (67) | ||||
| Other DMARD | 291 (36) | 104 (52) | 113 (38) | 74 (24) | ||||
| Biologics | 175 (22) | 20 (10) | 68 (23) | 87 (28) | ||||
| Glucocorticoids | 650 (80) | 137 (68) | 254 (86) | 259 (82) | ||||
| NSAID | 738 (91) | 182 (90) | 273 (96) | 273 (87) | 196 (24) | 38 (19) | 91 (31) | 67 (21) |
| COX-2 inhibitors | 393 (48) | 66 (33) | 158 (53) | 169 (54) | 94 (12) | 21 (10) | 40 (14) | 33 (10) |
RA: rheumatoid arthritis; BMI: body mass index; CV: cardiovascular; CHD: coronary heart disease; RF: rheumatoid factor; ExRA: extraarticular manifestations of RA; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; DMARD: disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; IQR: interquartile range; NSAID: nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs; COX-2: cyclooxygenase.