Table 1.
Participant Characteristics According to Rheumatoid Arthritis Status
| Characteristic | RA n = 75 | Control n = 225 | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Age, years | 59.1 ± 9.1 | 59.3 ± 8.9 | 0.87 |
| Female gender; n (%) | 39 (52.0) | 117 (52.0) | 1.00 |
| Caucasian; n (%) | 66 (88.0) | 198 (88.0) | 1.00 |
| Body surface area, m2 | 1.88 ± 0.22 | 1.91 ± 0.22 | 0.37 |
| Cardiovascular Risk Factors | |||
| Diabetes; (%) | 3 (4.0) | 13 (5.8) | 0.77 |
| Hypertension; n (%) | 41 (54.7) | 94 (41.8) | 0.052 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mm | 129 ± 17 | 123 ± 18 | 0.012 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mm | 77 ± 9 | 71 ± 10 | <0.001 |
| Use of anti-hypertensives; n (%) | 27 (36.0) | 72 (32.0) | 0.52 |
| Heart rate, beats per minute | 70 ± 11 | 65 ± 11 | 0.003 |
| Current smoking; n (%) | 12 (16.0) | 28 (12.4) | 0.43 |
| HDL-C, mg/dL | 55 ± 20 | 51 ± 14 | 0.12 |
| LDL-C, mg/dL | 116 ± 33 | 120 ± 28 | 0.33 |
| Triglycerides, mg/dL | 113 ± 63 | 127 ± 75 | 0.11 |
| Current statin use; n (%) | 10 (13.3) | 37 (16.4) | 0.52 |
| Intentional exercise, min/day; median (IQR) | 21 (0 – 77) | 32 (9 – 79) | 0.081 |
| C-reactive protein, mg/L; median (IQR) | 2.0 (1.0 – 4.6) | 1.7 (0.8 – 4.1) | 0.35 |
| Interleukin-6, pg/mL; median (IQR) | 2.4 (1.5 – 6.0) | 1.1 (0.7 – 1.8) | <0.001 |
| Coronary calcium score >0; n (%) | 42 (56.0) | 114 (50.7) | 0.42 |
| Coronary calcium score*; median (IQR) | 190 (104 – 540) | 93 (22 – 279) | 0.023 |
| Rheumatoid Arthritis Characteristics | |||
| RA duration, years; median (IQR) | 7 (4 – 17) | -- | -- |
| Rheumatoid factor seropositivity, n (%) | 50 (66.7) | -- | -- |
| anti-CCP seropositivity, n (%) | 53 (70.7) | -- | -- |
| Any HLA-DRB1 shared epitope alleles, n (%) | 58 (77.3) | -- | -- |
| Disease Activity Score (28 joints with CRP) | 3.51 ± 1.10 | -- | -- |
| HAQ score; median (IQR) | 0.63 (0 – 1.25) | -- | -- |
| Total modified Sharp score; median (IQR) | 49 (19 – 110) | -- | -- |
| Current rheumatoid nodules, n (%) | 25 (33.3) | -- | -- |
| Current prednisone use, n (%) | 29 (38.7) | -- | -- |
| Cumulative prednisone**, grams; median (IQR) | 5.0 (1.8 – 10.4) | -- | -- |
| Current NSAID use, n (%) | 49 (65.3) | -- | -- |
| Any current non-biologic DMARDs, n (%) | 66 (88.0) | -- | -- |
| Current methotrexate, n (%) | 53 (70.7) | -- | -- |
| Any current biologic DMARD use, n (%) | 37 (49.3) | -- | -- |
| TNF inhibitors, n (%) | 36 (48.0) | -- | -- |
| Rituximab, n (%) | 1 (1.3) | -- | -- |
values presented are mean ± standard deviation unless otherwise noted
*
For patients with a coronary calcium score>0 only
**
For current or past users only
RA=rheumatoid arthritis; HAQ=Health Assessment Questionnaire; NSAID=non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; TNF=tumor necrosis factor