Table 2 Clinical variables at baseline and 6‐month changes (estimated marginal means) after adjustments for the baseline value and the propensity score .

	Baseline			6‐month changes
	MTX (n = 380)	Anti‐TNF (n = 146)	p‐value*	MTX (n = 356)	Anti‐TNF (n = 132)	p Value*
ESR	23.6 (20.1)	30.4 (28.1)	0.01	−6.7 (14.4)	−16.3 (12.5)	<0.001
SJC	4.9 (4.4)	4.9 (4.8)	0.97	−2.1 (3.3)	−2.1 (3.8)	0.91
TJC	6.3 (5.6)	7.5 (7.0)	0.08	−2.3 (3.1)	−2.7 (6.2)	0.57
VAS fatigue	46.7 (28.5)	56.8 (25.3)	<0.001	−0.4 (27.3)	−12.7 (32.1)	0.001
VAS pain	48.3 (22.0)	53.5 (22.4)	0.02	−9.6 (23.3)	−21.6 (27.4)	<0.001
VAS patient's global	52.2 (21.0)	58.1 (21.3)	<0.01	−11.6 (23.2)	−22.7 (27.3)	<0.001
DAS‐28	4.5 (1.2)	4.8 (1.4)	0.02	−0.8 (1.3)	−1.7 (1.6)	<0.001
M‐HAQ	1.64 (0.45)	1.83 (0.47)	<0.001	−0.16 (0.4)	−0.30 (0.5)	0.01
SF‐36:
Physical function	53.0 (22.8)	42.3 (21.6)	<0.001	6.8(21.8)	12.3(25.7)	0.06
Role (physical)	21.6 (32.5)	12.5 (25.3)	0.001	11.9(38.9)	25.6(45.8)	0.01
Bodily pain	32.9 (16.5)	29.1 (17.0)	0.02	10.2(20.1)	17.8(23.6)	0.01
General health	50.3 (20.3)	40.0 (16.8)	<0.001	2.0(19.4)	7.0(22.8)	0.03
Vitality	40.6 (22.4)	30.8 (20.0)	<0.001	5.2(20.7)	12.0(24.3)	0.01
Social function	65.3 (26.3)	56.7 (24.2)	0.001	7.1(23.6)	9.0(27.8)	0.56
Role (mental)	50.8 (42.2)	52.2 (43.8)	0.74	10.0(40.0)	9.9(47.0)	0.98
Mental health	71.2 (18.6)	70.0 (18.0)	0.39	2.6(15.2)	4.7(17.8)	0.30
SF‐6D	0.57 (0.10)	0.55 (0.09)	<0.01	0.040 (0.10)	0.066 (0.11)	0.07

Values are presented as mean (standard deviation of the mean). ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; SJC, Swollen joint count (28 joints); TJC, tender joint count (28 joints); VAS, visual analogue scale; DAS, disease activity score; M‐HAQ, modified health assessment questionnaire; SF‐6D, short form 6D.

*p‐value for anti‐TNF compared to MTX.