Table 1.
Baseline data of postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis in the hormone replacement therapy (HRT) group and the control group
| Characteristic | HRT group | Control group |
| Age (years) | 57.0 ± 0.9 (41) | 58.1 ± 0.7 (47) |
| Disease duration (years) | 16.4 ± 1.9 (41) | 15.5 ± 1.7 (47) |
| Years after menopause | 8.4 ± 1.0 (36) | 8.3 ± 0.8 (42) |
| Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs | 83% (41) | 79% (47) |
| Glucocorticosteroid treatment | 24% (41) | 19% (47) |
| Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs | 78% (41) | 77% (47) |
| Positive serum test for rheumatoid factor | 83% (40) | 85% (47) |
| Serum TNF-α (pg/ml) | 4.0 ± 0.4 (39) | 4.4 ± 0.5 (46) |
| Serum IL-1Ra (pg/ml) | 608 ± 123 (40) | 485 ± 74 (47) |
| Serum IL-6 (pg/ml) | 23.8 ± 5.7 (40) | 22.4 ± 4.1 (47) |
| Serum sIL-6R (pg/ml) | 822 ± 42 (39) | 762 ± 31 (47) |
| Serum OPG (pg/ml) | 113 ± 18 (37) | 112 ± 12.8 (46) |
| Serum IGF-1 (ng/ml) | 81.7 ± 4.4 (34) | 78.2 ± 5.0 (43) |
| ESR (mm) | 30.8 ± 3.0 (41) | 26.5 ± 2.2 (46) |
| Serum estradiol (pmol/l) | 47.7 ± 8.6 (31) | 37.2 ± 4.0 (40) |
Values not shown as percentages are means ± standard error of the mean. Numbers of patients for whom data were available are shown in parentheses. ESR = erythrocyte sedimentation rate; IGF-1 = insulin-like growth factor 1; IL-1Ra = IL-1-receptor antagonist; OPG = osteoprotegerin; sIL-6R = soluble IL-6 receptor; TNF-α = tumor necrosis factor α.