Table 1. Baseline characteristics of patients with early arthritis.

	Rheumatoid artritis(n = 69)	Undifferentiated arthritis(n = 22)	Total(n = 91)	P value
Age (years)	54 [45–66]	55 [44–69]	54 [45–66]	n.s.
Female gender (%)	78	54	73	0.004
Disease duration (months)	5 [3]–[8]	7 [3]–[11]	5.4 [3.2–8.4]	n.s.
GDAPa	46 [29–60]	46 [28–58]	46 [28–60]	n.s.
GDAPh	50 [30 - 72]	30 [14–50]	42 [25–66]	0.002
VAS Pain	52 [25–70]	48 [13–60]	50 [20–70]	n.s.
HAQ	1.125 [0.625–1.750]	0.875 [0.375–1.375]	1 [0.625–1.625]	n.s.
TJC	6 [2]–[12]	3 [0–10]	6 [1]–[12]	n.s.
SJC	7 [3]–[10]	3 [0–6]	5 [2]–[9]	0.004
ESR	32 [19–54]	17 [8–34]	30 [15–46]	0.006
CRP (mg/dl)	0.92 [0.2–1.96]	0.48 [0.1–0.82]	0.72 [0.16–1.7]	0.047
DAS28 (0–10)	5.0 [4.0–6.1]	3.6 [3.1–4.5]	4.8 [3.5–6.0]	0.002
RF (%)	54	18	45	0.004
ACPA+ (%)	60	14	49	<0.001
VIP (pg/ml)	342 [262–440]	375 [243–490]	352 [261–444]	n.s.

Data are shown as the median or percentage. GDAPa: global disease assessment by patient; GDAPh: global disease assessment by physician; VAS: visual analog scale; HAQ: health assessment questionnaire; TJC: tender joint count; SJC: swollen joint count; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP: C-reactive protein; DAS28∶28-joint count Disease Activity Score; RF: rheumatoid factor; ACPA: anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies; VIP: vasoactive intestinal peptide. n.s.: not significant.