Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of Subject Subsets Using 150 day, and Very Early versus Very Late Cutoff Times
| Cut Point | 150 Days (5 months) | Very Early | Very Late | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) | Early < 150 days |
Late ≥ 150 days |
Early < 90 days (< 3 months) |
Late >= 300 days (≥ 10 months) |
| Number (n=233) | 110 | 123 | 51 | 49 |
| Female, % | 77% | 76% | 76% | 69% |
| Age, years | 51.48 (12.4) | 49.40 (13.1) | 53.31 (11.1) | * 48.14(14.11) |
|
Time to first
DMARDS, months |
3.1 (1.3) | 9.1 (3.0) | 1.9 (0.7) | 12.2 (1.9) |
|
Tender Joint
Count, 0-69 |
23.5 (14.3) | 22.7 (12.0) | 19.6 (12.5) | 23.1 (13.9) |
|
Swollen Joint
Count, 0-66 |
20.0 (11.4) | 19.2 (10.1) | 23.4 (15.5) | 20.9 (11.3) |
|
Physician
Global Assessment, 0- 100 scale |
52.50 (21.03) | 47.69 (20.50) | 52.30(21.16) | 48.3 (20.5) |
|
Patient Global
Assessment, 0- 100 scale |
44.3 (28.3) | 43.3 (27.9) | 46.3 (27.3) | 45.7 (26.9) |
|
Disease Activity
Score (DAS44- ESR) |
4.73 (1.18) | 4.76 (1.16) | 4.60 (1.33) | 4.92 (1.19) |
|
Health
Assessment Questionnaire, 0-3 |
1.35 (0.72) | ** 1.09 (0.68) | 1.41 (0.71) | ** 1.03 (0.56) |
|
Rheumatoid
factor titer, IU/ml |
360.44(405.9) | 389.30(624.0) | 385.29(428.5) | 399.88(724.2) |
|
Anti-CCP
(number positive/total), % Positive |
43/48 90% |
60/69 87% |
19/21 90% |
25/28 89% |
|
C-Reactive
Protein (CRP), mg/dL |
2.95 (3.57) | 2.90 (4.01) | 2.74 (3.36) | 2.9(3.79) |
|
Erythrocyte
Sedimentation Rate (ESR), mm/hr |
41.4 (23.1) | 41.0 (26.3) | 41.3 (24.5) | 48.0 (30.4) |
|
Erosion Score
(ES) |
1.49 (2.18) | 2.60 (4.74) | 1.55 (2.45) | ** 3.59(4.29) |
|
Joint Space
Narrowing Score (JSNS) |
3.78 (4.51) | 4.07 (6.80) | 4.50 (4.73) | 4.94(8.84) |
|
Total Sharp
Score (TSS) |
5.27 (5.69) | 6.67 (9.97) | 6.06 (6.43) | 8.53(12.32) |
*
significantly different at p<0.05, earlier versus later institution of DMARDS comparison using the Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous variables and the Chi-square test for categorical variables
**
significantly different at p<0.01, earlier versus later institution of DMARDS comparison using the Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous variables and the Chi-square test for categorical variables