Baseline characteristics of 80 patients included in the study.
| Characteristics | Mean (± SD) or n (%) |
|---|---|
| Age, yrs | 63 (± 10) |
| Female/male | 59/21 (74/26) |
| Disease duration, yrs | 11 (± 7) |
| Ongoing treatment | |
| cDMARD | 66 (82.5) |
| MTX | 55 (69) |
| MTX dose, mg/week | 18 (± 5) |
| bDMARD | 2 (2.5) |
| bDMARD + cDMARD | 7 (8.8) |
| None | 4 (5) |
| Glucocorticoids | 1 (1.3) |
| Erosive RA | 45 (56) |
| Comorbidities* | |
| None | 42 (52.5) |
| 1 | 22 (27.5) |
| > 1 | 16 (20) |
| BMI, mean (SD) | 28.8 (8.3) |
| Anti-CCP+ | 75 (94) |
| IgM-RF+ | 75 (94) |
| Anti-CCP+ and/or IgM-RF+ | 80 (100) |
| DAS28-CRP | 1.9 (± 0.6) |
| CRP, mg/l | 4.8 (± 7.7) |
| TJC28 | 0.5 (± 1.2) |
| SJC28 | 0 (± 0) |
| Patient-reported TJC28 | 1.2 (± 2.8) |
| Patient-reported SJC28 | 0.1 (± 0.5) |
| Pain (VAS) | 17.3 (± 18) |
| Fatigue (VAS) | 30 (± 24.4) |
| PtGA (VAS) | 21 (± 20.7) |
| EGA (VAS) | 3.8 (± 3.4) |
| HAQ | 0.5 (± 0.5) |
| FLARE-RA (range 0–10) | 1.5 (± 1.8) |
| RA-FQ (range 0–50) | 9.5 (± 9.2) |
Values are mean (± SD) scores or n (%) of demographic, clinical, patient-reported, laboratory characteristics at baseline.
↵* Comorbidities: diabetes, hypertension, other cardiovascular diseases, depression, osteoarthritis, or cancer. cDMARD: conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; MTX: methotrexate; bDMARD: biological DMARD; RA: rheumatoid arthritis; BMI: body mass index; anti-CCP: anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibody; RF: rheumatoid factor; DAS28-CRP: 28-joint count Disease Activity Score based on C-reactive protein; VAS: visual analog scale; PtGA: patient’s global assessment; EGA: evaluator’s global assessment; TJC28: tender joint count in 28 joints; SJC28: swollen joint count in 28 joints; HAQ: Health Assessment Questionnaire; FLARE-RA: Flare Assessment in Rheumatoid Arthritis questionnaire; RA-FQ: OMERACT (Outcome Measures in Rheumatology) Rheumatoid Arthritis Flare Questionnaire.