Table 3 Detailed comparison of radiographic and clinical characteristics in different relevant subgroups of patients.
| Age (years) | Male n (%) | Damage at BL n (%) | Definite damage at BL n (%) | Ambiguous syndesmophytes n (%) | Mean mSASSS | Mean BASDAI | Mean CRP | Mean BASFI | Mean BASMI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age ⩽ mean age (38 years, n = 67) | 31.8 | 42 (62.7) | 45 (67.2) | 24 (35.8) | 3 (4.5) | 6.8 | 4.6 | 25.0 | 2.5 | 3.9 |
| Age >mean age (n = 49) | 47.5 | 26 (52) | 44 (89.8) | 33 (67.3) | 9 (18.4) | 12.7 | 5.8 | 28.2 | 3.6 | 5.0 |
| p Value | 0.000 | 0.248 | 0.011 | 0.001 | 0.018 | 0.002 | 0.005 | 0.971 | 0.005 | 0.039 |
| Symptom duration ⩽mean symptom duration (11 years, n = 80) | 36.4 | 49 (61.3) | 57 (71.3) | 35 (43.8) | 6 (7.5) | 8.0 | 4.3 | 25.0 | 2.6 | 3.8 |
| Symptom duration > mean symptom duration (n = 36) | 43.1 | 19 (52.8) | 32 (88.9) | 22 (61.1) | 6 (16.7) | 12.1 | 6.7 | 28.7 | 3.8 | 5.5 |
| p Value | 0.000 | 0.440 | 0.085 | 0.186 | 0.129 | 0.040 | 0.000 | 0.643 | 0.003 | 0.001 |
| Patients with ambiguous syndesmophytes (n = 13) | 44.0 | 8 (61.5) | 13 (100) | 13 (100) | NA | 14.9 | 5.7 | 45.5 | 3.4 | 4.7 |
| Patients without any ambiguous syndesmophytes (n = 103) | 37.9 | 60 (58.3) | 77 (74.8) | 45 (43.7) | NA | 8.7 | 5.0 | 24.4 | 2.9 | 4.3 |
| p Value | 0.018 | 0.528 | 0.040 | 0.000 | NA | 0.001 | 0.378 | 0.105 | 0.218 | 0.559 |
BL, baseline; BASDAI, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index; BASFI, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Function Index; BASMI, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index; CRP, C‐reactive protein; mSASSS, modified Stokes Ankylosing Spondylitis Spinal Score; NA, not available.