Table 1.
Patient characteristics at inclusion and at follow-up visits.
| Characteristic | Inclusion | 3 months | 6 months | 12 months | 24 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 269 | 191 | 169 | 185 | 157 |
| ACR/EULAR 2010a, n (%) | 260 (96.7) | 185 (96.9) | 162 (95.9) | 181 (97.8) | 152 (96.8) |
| ACR 1987a, n (%) | 197 (73.2) | 140 (73.3) | 122 (72.2) | 134 (72.4) | 118 (75.2) |
| Sex, female, n (%) | 198 (73.6) | 140 (73.3) | 125 (74.0) | 133 (71.9) | 114 (72.6) |
| Age, mean (SD), years | 58.9 (16.0) | 58.4 (15.7) | 58.0 (15.7) | 58.4 (15.2) | 59.4 (15.8) |
| Symptom duration at inclusion, months | 5.0 (3.0–8.0) | 5.0 (3.0–7.0) | 5.0 (3.0–7.0) | 5.0 (3.0–8.0) | 5.0 (3.0–7.0) |
| RF positive at inclusion, n/N (%) | 182/266 (68.4) | 129/188 (67.5) | 112/167 (67.1) | 126/183 (68.9) | 112/155 (72.3) |
| Anti-CCP positive at inclusion, n (%) | 182 (67.7) | 137 (71.7) | 119 (70.4) | 123 (66.5) | 114 (72.6) |
| Prednisolone, n (%) | 128 (47.6) | 88 (46.1) | 84 (49.7) | 63 (34.1) | 54 (34.4) |
| Methotrexate, n (%) | 177 (65.8) | 169 (88.5) | 143 (84.6) | 160 (86.5) | 122 (77.7) |
| >1 csDMARD, n (%) | 6 (2.3) | 8 (4.2) | 13 (7.7) | 11 (5.9) | 10 (6.4) |
| bDMARD, n (%) | 27 (10.3) | 45 (23.6) | 61 (36.1) | 79 (42.7) | 70 (44.6) |
| No csDMARD, n (%) | 79 (29.4) | 11 (5.8) | 17 (10.1) | 15 (8.1) | 25 (15.9) |
| VAS pain, mean (S.D.) | 50.7 (28.1) | 30.8 (26.8) | 28.5 (25.0) | 28.0 (24.9) | 26.9 (26.9) |
| SJC28 | 4.5 (2.0–9.0) | 1.0 (0–3.0) | 1.0 (0–3.0) | 1.0 (0–3.0) | 0 (0–2.0) |
| TJC28 | 6.0 (2.0–10.0) | 2.0 (0–6.0) | 1.0 (0–4.0) | 2.0 (0–5.0) | 1.0 (0–4.0) |
| HAQ | 1.0 (0.5–1.4) | 0.6 (0.1–1.0) | 0.5 (0.1–1.0) | 0.5 (0.1–1.1) | 0.5 (0.1–1.0) |
| CRP (mg/l) | 7.3 (2.8–24.0) | 3.7 (1.2–8.1) | 2.8 (1.1–6.3) | 2.2 (0.9–5.9) | 2.3 (0.8–5.8) |
| ESR (mm/h) | 26.0 (13.0–47.0) | 15.0 (9.0–26.0) | 14.0 (7.0–25.8) | 12.0 (7.0–23.0) | 16.0 (7.0–27.0) |
| VAS PGA, mean (S.D.) | 49.1 (28.2) | 32.8 (26.4) | 29.9 (26.2) | 29.5 (24.9) | 28.5 (26.7) |
| DAS28-CRP, mean (S.D.) | 4.4 (1.5) | 3.2 (1.3) | 2.9 (1.2) | 2.8 (1.1) | 2.7 (1.2) |
| Low disease activityb, n/N (%) | 47/213 (22.1) | 92/166 (55.4) | 87/132 (65.9) | 91/147 (61.9) | 77/115 (67.0) |
| Tender-swollen difference | 0 (0–3) | 0 (0–2) | 0 (0–2) | 0 (0–2) | 0 (0–2) |
| Tender-dominatedc, n (%) | 73 (27.2) | 64 (33.5) | 57 (33.7) | 69 (37.3) | 54 (34.6) |
Values are median (interquartile range) unless otherwise indicated. bDMARD: biologic DMARD; csDMARD: conventional synthetic DMARD; DAS28-CRP: Disease Activity Score in 28 joints calculated with CRP; PGA: patient global assessment; SJC28: Swollen Joint Count in 28 joints; TJC28: Tender Joint Count in 28 joints; VAS: Visual Analogue Scale.
Data at inclusion: VAS pain (n = 216), VAS PGA (n = 217), HAQ (n = 215), DAS28-CRP (n = 213), CRP (n = 265), ESR (n = 243). Data at 3 months: VAS pain (n = 168), VAS PGA (n = 168); HAQ (n = 166), DAS28-CRP (n = 167), CRP (n = 190), ESR (n = 135). Data at 6 months: VAS pain (n = 133), VAS PGA (n = 134), HAQ (n = 133), DAS28-CRP (n = 132), CRP (n = 167), ESR (n = 136). Data at 12 months: VAS pain (n = 148), VAS PGA (n = 148), HAQ (n = 145), DAS28-CRP (n = 148), CRP (n = 183), ESR (n = 153).
Data at 24 months: VAS pain (n = 117), VAS PGA (n = 116), HAQ (n = 109), DAS28-CRP (n = 115), CRP (n = 155), ESR (n = 129).
Classification criteria fulfilled at inclusion.
DAS-28-CRP ≤3.2.
TJC28 > SJC28 × 1.5.