Table 4.
Sa is associated with severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
| Sa+ RA | Sa- RA | RF+ RA | RF- RA | SE+ RA | SE- RA | |
| (n=23) | (n=83) | (n=70) | (n=36) | (n=62) | (n=44) | |
| Male (%) | 14 (61)* | 23 (28) | 27 (39) | 10 (28) | 24(39) | 13 (30) |
| Age | 48 ± 15 | 46 ± 13 | 47 ± 12 | 44 ± 15 | 49 ± 13* | 42 ± 13 |
| Duration of symptoms (weeks) | 36 ± 25 | 30 ± 18 | 33 ± 17 | 29 ± 24 | 32 ± 15 | 31 ± 25 |
| Initial visit | ||||||
| Swollen joints | 18 ± 12* | 13 ± 9 | 13 ± 9 | 16 ± 10 | 13 ± 9 | 14 ± 11 |
| Nodules | 1(4) | 5 (6) | 5 (7) | 1 (3) | 5(8) | 1 (2) |
| CRP (mg/dl) | 2.6 ± 3* | 1.6 ± 1.4 | 1.9 ± 1.8 | 1.9 ± 2.1 | 1.7 ± 1.5 | 2.1 ± 2.4 |
| On DMARDs (%) | 11 (48) | 31 (37) | 28 (40) | 14 (39) | 24 (39) | 18 (41) |
| On prednisone (%) | 12 (52) | 29 (35) | 25 (36) | 16 (44) | 26 (42) | 15 (34) |
| Multiple erosions (%)† | 7 (30) | 12 (14) | 12 (17) | 7 (19) | 12 (19) | 7 (16) |
| One year visit | ||||||
| Swollen joints | 8 ± 9 | 8 ± 10 | 9 ± 11 | 7 ± 7 | 10 ± 11* | 5 ± 6 |
| CRP (mg/dl) | 1.1 ± 0.7 | 1.2 ± 1.8 | 1.3 ± 1.9 | 0.9 ± 0.5 | 1.4 ± 2.1 | 0.9 ± 0.3 |
| Number of DMARDs | 1.4 ± 0.8* | 0.9 ± 0.7 | 0.9 ± 0.7 | 1.0 ± 0.8 | 0.9 ± 0.7 | 1.1 ± 0.8 |
| Prednisone (mg/day) | 4.8 ± 6.0* | 1.8 ± 3.3 | 2.7 ± 4.8 | 2.0 ± 2.5 | 2.7 ± 4.0 | 2.1 ± 3.9 |
| Multiple erosions (%)† | 12 (60)* | 27 (33) | 24 (34) | 14 (39) | 25 (42) | 13 (30) |
| Inactive disease (%) | 0 | 9 (12) | 3 (4) | 6 (17) | 4 (7) | 5 (11) |
Independent comparisons are made between Sa+ and Sa- RA, RF+ and RF- RA, SE+ and SE- RA. *P<0.05.†One hundred and two out of 106 (96%) of the patients had 1 year radiographs available for analysis. Multiple erosions included all patients with two or more erosions that involved at least two separate joint areas. RF, Rheumatoid factor; SE, shared epitope; CRP, C-reactive protein; DMARD, disease modifying antirheumatic drug.