Comparison of clinical characteristics among patients with rheumatoid arthritis who have inflammatory ocular disease (IOD) and their comparators without IOD matched for age, sex, and disease duration seen at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA, between 1996 and 2013. Values are median (25th percentile, 75th percentile) or n (%). Percentages are calculated among patients with available data.
| Characteristics | IOD, n = 90 | Non-IOD, n = 90 | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yrs | 65 (53–71) | 64 (52–71) | 0.68 |
| Sex, female | 61 (68) | 61 (68) | 1.0 |
| RA duration at IOD onset, yrs | 10.2 (4.0–20.9) | 9.9 (3.1–20.6) | 0.61 |
| Length of followup, yrs | 5.7 (1.9–10.2) | 4.4 (2.0–9.0) | — |
| Smoker, current or former | 37 (42) | 49 (55) | 0.08 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 28.3 (24.8–31.5) | 28.3 (23.1–32.7) | 0.82 |
| No/mild disease activity per physician judgment, N/A 28 and 36 | 40 (65) | 31 (57) | 0.43 |
| Radiographic erosions, N/A 15 and 22 | 46 (61) | 39 (57) | 0.63 |
| Severe ExRA | 16 (18) | 4 (4) | 0.004 |
| Rheumatoid nodules | 26 (30) | 22 (24) | 0.44 |
| Sjögren syndrome** | 7 (8) | 3 (3) | 0.19 |
| Dry eye syndrome* | 35 (42) | 23 (26) | 0.024 |
| Seropositivity (RF and/or ACPA), N/A 5 and 1 | 71 (84) | 66 (74) | 0.13 |
| DMARD treatment at IOD onset or in the previous 2 yrs | 64 (71) | 67 (74) | 0.62 |
| Biologic treatment at IOD onset or in the previous 2 yrs, N/A 3 and 0 | 29 (33) | 21 (23) | 0.14 |
| GC treatment at IOD onset or in the previous 2 yrs, N/A 7 and 4 | 54 (65) | 55 (64) | 0.88 |
Data in bold face are statistically significant.
↵* Dry eye syndrome or keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) was defined based on ophthalmology evaluation and supported by positive rose-bengal/lissamine green corneal surface staining or abnormal result of Schirmer’s test < 5 mm/min.
↵** Sjögren syndrome was defined based on meeting 2 of these 3 criteria: KCS as above, xerostomia (dry mouth based on clinical judgment supported by abnormal sialometry, sialography, salivary scintigraphy, or salivary gland biopsy with lymphocytic infiltrate), or serological evidence (positive ANA, anti-Ro/SSA, anti-La/SSB positive, or polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia). RA: rheumatoid arthritis; BMI: body mass index; ExRA: extraarticular manifestation of RA; DMARD: disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; GC: glucocorticoid; RF: rheumatoid factor; ACPA: anticitrullinated protein antibodies; N/A: not available; ANA: antinuclear antibodies.