Table 2.
Characteristics of study subjects
| Characteristic | RA (n = 33) | Controls (n = 17) | P |
| Sex (F:M) | 23:10 | 10:7 | - |
| Age | 53.5 ± 12.4 | 52.9 ± 15.7 | NS |
| Height (cm) | 167.3 ± 11.0 | 170.1 ± 8.6 | NS |
| Weight (kg) | 77.1 ± 21.1 | 74.9 ± 17.9 | NS |
| Rheumatoid factor (IU/mL) | 89.4 ± 76.1 | < 20 | <0.0001 |
| Chemistry | |||
| Urinary creatinine (g/24 h) | 1.0 ± 0.4 | 1.2 ± 0.3 | NS |
| Serum urea nitrogen (mg/dL) | 13.2 ± 4.3 | 15.6 ± 3.0 | <0.05 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 3.9 ± 0.4 | 4.0 ± 0.4 | NS |
| Serum AST (IU/L) | 19.4 ± 9.8 | 21.9 ± 11.2 | NS |
| Serum ALT (IU/L) | 21.4 ± 4.5 | 23.9 ± 7.5 | NS |
| Alkaline phosphatase (IU/L) | 72.2 ± 19.6 | 57.2 ± 14.3 | <0.01 |
| Hematology | |||
| White blood cell counts (/nL) | 7.3 ± 3.0 | 5.5 ± 1.2 | <0.01 |
| Hematocrit (%) | 38.0 ± 3.5 | 39.8 ± 3.1 | 0.06 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 13.0 ± 1.6 | 13.7 ± 1.2 | 0.08 |
| Mean corpuscular volume (fL) | 88.3 ± 4.1 | 87.6 ± 6.4 | NS |
| ESR (mm/h) | 30.8 ± 20.4 | 8.2 ± 2.8 | <0.0001 |
Data are presented as means ± SD. AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; RA, rheumatoid arthritis. Bold P values are statistically significant.