Table 2 Two‐year outcome for each group.
| MTX group, n = 85 | SSZ group, n = 258 | p Value | Difference between mean changes, adjusted for baseline* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unadjusted for propensity | Adjusted for propensity | ||||
| Continuous variables | Mean (95% CI) | Mean (95% CI) | |||
| SJC: median change (IQR) | −3 (−9, 0) | −4 (−11, 0) | 0.3 | −1.12 (−2.78 to 0.54) | −0.59 (−2.64 to 1.45) |
| TJC: median change (IQR) | −2 (−11, 0) | −4 (−10, 1) | 0.9 | −2.66 (−5.11 to −0.20) | −1.33 (−4.36 to 1.97) |
| HAQ: median change (IQR) | −0.3 (−0.7, 0.1) | −0.3 (−0.6, 0.1) | 0.9 | 0.00 (−0.18 to 0.17) | −0.03 (−0.25 to 0.18) |
| Categorical variables | OR (95% CI) | OR (95% CI) | |||
| Remission: number (%) | 5 (6) | 14 (5) | 0.9 | 1.1 (0.4 to 3.1) | 0.8 (0.2 to 2.8) |
| Still on same treatment at 2 years: number (%) | 48 (56) | 129 (50) | 0.3 | 1.3 (0.8 to 2.1) | 1.8 (0.9 to 3.3) |
| Died: number (%)† | 4 (4) | 7 (2) | 0.4 | ||
HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire; IQR, interquartile range; MTX, methotrexate; SJC, swollen joint count; SSZ, sulfasalazine; TJC, tender joint count.
*This was done using linear regression, with the change in outcome as the dependent variable, the baseline value of the outcome as a continuous predictor and the group membership (SSZ or MTX) as an indicator variable. The value in the table is the coefficient of the indicator variable.
†Proportion of deaths refers to initial cohort.