Characteristics of patients with RA and HC.
| Characteristics | RA, n = 235 | HC, n = 180 | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yrs | 55.2 ± 11.3 | 47.4 ± 11.8 | < 0.0001 |
| Height, m | 1.65 ± 6.5 | 1.68 ± 5.5 | < 0.0001 |
| Body weight, kg | 70.7 ± 14.6 | 66.4 ± 10.8 | < 0.0001 |
| Smoking | 45 (19.3) | 47 (26.1) | 0.1 |
| Alcohol consumption | 165 (70.5) | 168 (93.3) | < 0.0001 |
| Living in a partnership | 179 (77.5) | 150 (85.2) | 0.049 |
| No. pregnancies | 2.1 ± 1.29 | 1.72 ± 1.32 | 0.048 |
| No. children | 1.78 ± 1.08 | 1.43 ± 1.05 | 0.023 |
| Level of education | < 0.0001 | ||
| Compulsory education | 49 (21.3) | 7 (3.9) | |
| Professional diploma | 110 (48.0) | 26 (14.6) | |
| Higher level (college/university) | 70 (30.5) | 144 (81.3) | |
| Working capacity | 100 (43.3) | 139 (78.5) | < 0.0001 |
| Joint replacement | 35 (14.9) | 5 (2.8) | < 0.0001 |
| Surgery on the spine | 16 (7) | 3 (1.7) | 0.011 |
| RF-positive | 161 (71.9) | ||
| ACPA-positive | 135 (63.4) | ||
| csDMARD | 184 (78.3) | ||
| bDMARD | 129 (45.5) | ||
| Both csDMARD and bDMARD | 76 (32.3) | ||
| No DMARD at all | 20 (8.5) | ||
| Depression, n | 66/223a | 21/169a | 0.001 |
| BDI categories | |||
| Mild | 49 (22) | 19 (11) | |
| Moderate | 14 (6) | 2 (1) | |
| Severe | 3 (1) | 0 (0) | |
| Comorbidities | |||
| Diabetes | 5 (2.2) | 2 (1.1) | 0.418 |
| High blood pressure | 49 (22.4) | 26 (14.4) | 0.044 |
| Coronary heart disease | 3 (1.6) | 1 (0.6) | 0.364 |
| Congestive heart failure | 5 (2.4) | 0 (0.0) | 0.039 |
| Peripheral arterial occlusive disease | 13 (6.7) | 7 (4.02) | 0.263 |
| Mucosal dryness | 44 (21.9) | 12 (6.9) | < 0.0001 |
Data are given in mean ± SD for continuous variables or n (%) for binary variables, unless otherwise specified.
↵a Data available for analysis; owing to a varying number of answers in the different characteristics, the total scores vary within the questionnaire. RA: rheumatoid arthritis; HC: healthy controls; RF: rheumatoid factor, ACPA: anticitrullinated protein antibodies; DMARD: disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; csDMARD: conventional synthetic DMARD; bDMARD: biologic DMARD; BDI: Beck Depression Inventory.