Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the included patients
| Total (n=109) | axSpA (n=61; 56%) | non-axSpA (n=48; 44%) | |
| Male sex, n (%) | 54 (49.5%) | 39 (63.9%) | 15 (31.3%) |
| Age, years M (SD) | 36.4 (10.5) | 34.9 (10.9) | 38.3 (9.8) |
| Duration of BP, years M (SD) | 7.4 (6.5) | 6.7 (6.5) | 8.2 (6.6) |
| Inflammatory BP, n (%) | 79 (72.5%) | 55 (90.2%) | 24 (50%) |
| Uveitis, ever: n (%) | 12 (11.0%) | 11 (18%) | 1 (2.1%) |
| Psoriasis, ever: n (%) | 8 (7.3%) | 6 (9.8%) | 2 (4.2%) |
| IBD, ever, n (%) | 3 (2.8%) | 1 (1.6%) | 2 (4.2%) |
| Peripheral arthritis, ever: n (%) | 18 (16.5%) | 9 (14.8%) | 9 (18.8%) |
| Enthesitis, ever, n (%) | 19 (17.4%) | 8 (13.1%) | 11 (22.9%) |
| Positive family history of SpA, n/N (%) | 15/98 (15.3%) | 13/53 (24.5%) | 2/45 (4.4%) |
| HLA-B27+, n/N (%) | 61/104 (58.7%) | 49/58 (84.5%) | 12/46 (26.1%) |
| Elevated CRP (>5 mg/L), n (%) | 30 (27.5%) | 17 (27.9%) | 13 (27.1%) |
| Good response to NSAIDs, n/N (%) | 61/87 (70.1%) | 40/50 (80.0%) | 21/37 (56.8%) |
| Physically demanding work, n (%) | 28 (25.7%) | 16 (26.2%) | 12 (25.0%) |
| Regular exercise, n (%) | 65 (59.6%) | 34 (55.7%) | 31 (64.6%) |
| History of pregnancy, n/N (%) | 30/55 (54.5%) | 9/22 (40.9%) | 21/33 (63.6%) |
There were no patients with dactylitis.
axSpA, axial spondyloarthritis; BP, back pain; CRP, C reactive protein; HLA, human leucocyte antigen; IBD, inflammatory bowel disease; M, mean; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; SpA, spondyloarthritis.