Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of subjects in placebo and active-drug arms of a trial of interferon-β-1a in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
| Characteristic | Placebo (n = 6) | Drug (n = 16) | P valuea |
| Mean age (range) | 53 (39–69) | 54 (35–72) | 0.80 |
| Women (%) | 6 (100) | 13 (81) | 0.53 |
| Mean weight in pounds (range) | 157 (109–211) | 164 (117–289) | 0.62 |
| Mean number of tender joints (range) | 25 (14–41) | 20 (8–45) | 0.40 |
| Mean number of swollen joints (range) | 19 (6–40) | 16 (7–34) | 0.68 |
| Mean HAQ Disability Index (0–3) (SD) | 1.45 (0.53) | 1.36 (0.72) | 0.76 |
| Mean C-reactive protein (SD) | 1.6(1.1) | 2.4 (1.7) | 0.31 |
| Mean physician's global assessment (0–10) (SD) | 5.8(2.2) | 5.6 (2.0) | 0.85 |
| Mean patient's global self assessment (0–10) (SD) | 5.6 (2.5) | 5.9 (2.7) | 0.87 |
| Mean pain VAS (0–10) (SD) | 5.8 (1.2) | 5.8 (2.6) | 0.97 |
| Number of patients on DMARDS (%) | 2 (33%) | 13 (81%) | 0.05 |
| Number of patients on NSAIDs (%) | 2 (33%) | 12 (75%) | 0.09 |
| Mean number of DMARDS (range) | 1.3 (0–3) | 0.9 (0–2) | 0.37 |
| Number of patients on prednisone | 4 (67%) | 12 (75%) | 0.54 |
| Mean dose (mg) of prednisone (range) | 4.7 (0–10) | 5.2 (0–10) | 0.82 |
| Baseline disease duration (years) (range) | 10.1 (0.2–29.4) | 14.2 (0.4–33.8) | 0.38 |
aP values are for one-tailed t-tests and Fisher's exact test, as appropriate. DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire; NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; SD, standard deviation; VAS, Visual Analog Scale.