Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the patients with comparison between patients with/without persistent arthritis at one year
| All patients (n = 376) |
Persistent disease (N = 174) |
Self-limiting disease (N = 202) |
P* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persistent synovitis (with or without DMARD) (N = 122) |
DMARD prescribed (without persistent synovitis)$ (N = 52) |
||||
| Female gendera | 218 (58.0) | 78 (63.9) | 32 (61.5) | 108 (53.5) | 0.06 |
| Age, yearsb | 46.3 (14.8) | 49.0 (14.9) | 45.6 (17.1) | 44.9 (14.0) | 0.04 |
| Arthritis duration, daysc | 32 (10 to 64) | 50 (21 to 69) | 59 (27 to 76) | 21 (7 to 49) | <0.001 |
| SJC (0 to 68)c | 2 (1 to 5) | 4 (1 to 9) | 4 (2 to 8) | 1 (1 to 3) | <0.001 |
| TJC (0 to 28)c | 1 (1 to 3) | 2 (1 to 6) | 2 (1 to 5) | 1(0 to 2) | <0.001 |
| ESR, mm/hc | 24 (11 to 46) | 27 (10 to 50) | 32 (17 to 51) | 19 (10 to 38) | 0.005 |
| CRP, mg/lc | 15.0 (5.0 to 36.4) | 15 (5 to 35) | 18 (9 to 45) | 14.0 (3.5 to 36.2) | 0.16 |
| IgM RF level, units/mlc | 4 (1 to 10) | 6 (2 to 40) | 6 (2 to 30) | 3 (1 to 7) | <0.001 |
| IgM RF positivea | 59 (15.7) | 36 (29.5) | 13 (25.0) | 10 (5.0) | <0.001 |
| Anti-CCP2 level, units/mlc | 3 (2 to 6) | 4 (2 to 83) | 4 (2 to 25) | 2 (2 to 4) | <0.001 |
| Anti-CCP2 positivea | 62 (16.5) | 39 (32.0) | 13 (25.0) | 10 (5.0) | <0.001 |
| Assessor's global VAS, mmb | 35.8 (20.7) | 39.5 (21.8) | 44.7 (23.0) | 31.3 (18.2) | <0.001 |
| Patient's global VAS, mmb | 53.8 (24.0) | 57.4 (21.9) | 59.5 (26.1) | 50.2 (24.1) | 0.001 |
| Small joint arthritisa | 173 (46.0) | 73 (59.8) | 33 (63.5) | 67 (33.2) | <0.001 |
| Morning stiffness>1 houra | 195 (51.9)§ | 70 (57.9) | 31 (60.8) | 101 (58.0) | 0.04 |
| DAS28b | 4.05 (1.32) | 4.47 (1.35) | 4.61 (1.36) | 3.65 (1.15) | <0.001 |
| HAQ (0-3)b | 0.89 (0.67) | 0.98 (0.64) | 1.07 (0.80) | 0.78 (0.63) | 0.001 |
| Monoarthritisa | 154 (41.0) | 37 (30.3) | 12 (23.1) | 105 (52.0) | <0.001 |
| -of the kneea | 80 (51.9) | 20 (54.1) | 6 (50.0) | 54 (51.4) | 0.85 |
| Fulfilment of 1987 ACR criteriaa† | 70 (18.6) | 37 (30.3) | 16 (30.8) | 17 (8.4) | <0.001 |
ACR: American College of Rheumatology; anti-CCP2: 2nd generation anti-citrullinated peptide antibody; CRP: C-reactive protein; DAS: Disease Activity Score; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; HAQ: Health Assessment Questionnaire; RF: rheumatoid factor; SJC: swollen joint count; TJC: tender joint count; VAS: visual analogue scale; small joint arthritis, joint swelling in PIP-, MCP- or MTP joint(s).
$No statistical differences between the persistent arthritis group and DMARD group for any of the baseline variables were found.
*Comparing persistent disease group with self-limiting disease group.aCount (%).bMean (standard deviation).cMedian (inter-quartile range).§N = 369.†Modified from the 1987 ARA criteria according to available data (excluding criteria on erosive disease and duration of symptoms).