Table 1.
Baseline characteristics at inclusion, median values (range)
| Group UnCh (N=142) | Group InCr (N=34) | Group DeCr (N=173) | All (N=349) | P-value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age |
58 (16–83) |
56 (25–83) |
57 (18–84) |
58 (16–84) |
0.96 |
| Gender (% women) |
62 |
56 |
68 |
64 |
0.33** |
| Disease duration (months) |
6.0 (1–13) |
3.5 (1–12) |
6.0 (1–21) |
6,0 (1–21) |
0.10 |
| DAS28 |
5.4 (0.5-7.9) |
5.5 (0.5-8.0) |
5.1 (2.3-8.1) |
5,3 (0,5-8,1) |
0.06 |
| HAQ |
0.9 (0–2.6) |
1.3 (0–2.3) |
0.9 (0–2.5) |
0,9 (0–2,6) |
0.10 |
| ESR (mm/H) |
33 (2–110) |
42 (2–140) |
27 (2–115) |
31 (2–140) |
0.006 |
| CRP (mg/L) |
22.0 (4–186) |
29.5 (3–159) |
19.0 (4–228) |
21 (3–228) |
0.40 |
| RF positive (%) |
61 |
67 |
56 |
59 |
0.46** |
| Anti-CCP (%) |
58 |
61 |
56 |
57 |
0.86** |
| COMP (U/L) |
11.9 (6.1-26.8) |
9.6 (5.6-19.3) |
13.8 (4.5-32.0) |
12.7 (4.5-32.0) |
<0.001 |
| Erosion score |
0 (0–44) |
0 (0–20) |
0 (0–15) |
0 (0–44) |
0.68 |
| JSN score |
0 (0–40) |
0 (0–15) |
0 (0–33) |
0 (0–40) |
0.41 |
| Total Sharp score | 1 (0–84) | 2 (0–34) | 0.25 (0–35) | 1 (0–84) | 0.52 |
Group UnCh, patients with unchanged serum-COMP levels from inclusion to 3 months follow-up (change ≤ 20%),
Group InCr, increasing serum- COMP levels from inclusion to 3 months follow-up (increase > 20%).
Group DeCr, decreasing serum-COMP levels from inclusion to 3 months follow-up (decrease > 20%).
*Kruskal-Wallis test, ** Chi2 test.