Table 1. Baseline patient characteristics.
| All n = 50 | Responders n = 39 | Non-responders n = 11 | p Value | |
| Age, years (SD) | 51 (13) | 51 (12) | 47 (17) | 0.331 |
| Female (%) | 38 (76) | 28 (72) | 10 (91) | 0.190 |
| Disease duration, months (IQR) | 59 (33–145) | 61 (29–149) | 54 (34–142) | 0.935 |
| Erosive disease (%) | 33 (66) | 26 (67) | 7 (64) | 0.851 |
| Rheumatoid factor positive (%) | 36 (72) | 29 (74) | 7 (64) | 0.484 |
| Anti-CCP positive (%) | 35 (70) | 28 (72) | 7 (64) | 0.602 |
| Extra articular manifestations (IQR) | 14 (28) | 12 (31) | 2 (18) | 0.412 |
| DAS28 (SD) | 5.6 (1.1) | 5.7 (1.1) | 5.3 (0.8) | 0.225 |
| BMI, kg/m2 (SD) | 27 (6.3) | 27 (6.3) | 26 (6.7) | 0.557 |
| Smokers, current (%) | 12 (24) | 10 (26) | 2 (18) | 0.609 |
| Smokers, ever (%) | 31 (62) | 27 (69) | 4 (36) | 0.047* |
| SBP, mm Hg (SD) | 132 (15) | 133 (16) | 129 (12) | 0.606 |
| DBP, mm Hg (SD) | 80 (9) | 80 (9) | 83 (8) | 0.241 |
| ESR, mm/h (IQR) | 20 (11–35) | 20 (11–35) | 20 (15–36) | 0.824 |
| CRP, mg/l (IQR) | 17 (5–20) | 10 (4–22) | 8 (5–16) | 0.779 |
| Diabetes mellitus type 2 (%) | 4 (8) | 4 (10) | 0 (0) | 0.268 |
| Previous cardiovascular event (%) | 4 (8) | 3 (8) | 1 (9) | 0.687 |
| Statin use (%) | 6 (12) | 5 (13) | 1 (9) | 0.717 |
| Antihypertensive drug use (%) | 16 (32) | 13 (41) | 3 (27) | 0.704 |
| Methotrexate, mg/week (SD) | 18.4 (7.6) | 18.0 (7.7) | 19.5 (7.5) | 0.508 |
| Use of corticosteroids (%) | 16 (32) | 11 (28) | 5 (45) | 0.279 |
| Prednisone dose, mg/day (SD) | 7.8 (2.4) | 7.8 (2.4) | 8.0 (2.7) | 0.268 |
| Use of NSAID (%) | 36 (72) | 28 (78) | 8 (73) | 0.951 |
Mean values (SD), median and interquartile range (IQR) or percentages are shown.
*p Values <0.05 (two-sided) are significant.
BMI, body mass index; CCP, cyclic citrullinated peptide; CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS28, disease activity score in 28 joints; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; SBP, systolic blood pressure.