Table 4.
Biochemical markers of inflammatory activity and endothelial activation according to DAS28.
| Control group (n = 29) | RA patients with low DAS28∧ (n = 15) | RA patients with high DAS28∧ (n = 11) | P valueua | P adjusteda | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nv | Mean (SD) | Nv | Mean (SD) | Nv | Mean (SD) | |||
| ADMA, µmol/L | 28 | 0.67 (0.18) | 15 | 0.69 (0.17) | 11 | 0.88 (0.19)∗#‡¥ | 0.007 | 0.027 |
| SDMA, µmol/L | 26 | 0.62 (0.18) | 15 | 0.58 (0.18) | 11 | 0.53 (0.13) | 0.404 | 0.220 |
| ADMA/SDMA ratio | 26 | 1.17 (0.47) | 15 | 1.27 (0.4)* | 11 | 1.77 (0.69)∗‡¥ | 0.006 | 0.020 |
| sVCAM-1, ng/mL | 28 | 613.3 (148.4) | 15 | 779.98 (203.67)∗‡ | 11 | 685.61 (156.74) | 0.008 | 0.033 |
| MCP-1, pg/mL | 28 | 262.4 (90.73) | 15 | 336.13 (87.84) | 11 | 493.47 (379.53)∗‡ | 0.015 | 0.030 |
| sE-selectin, ng/mL | 28 | 12.45 (8.02) | 15 | 14.98 (5.8) | 11 | 22.03 (10.9)∗‡¥ | 0.006 | 0.047 |
| vWf, % | 27 | 73.73 (22.39) | 15 | 102.76 (44.78)∗‡ | 11 | 121.19 (54.51)∗‡ | 0.008 | 0.019 |
| Osteoprotegerin, pmol/L | 28 | 4.01 (1.06) | 15 | 4.89 (0.98) | 11 | 5.65 (1.76)∗‡ | 0.001 | 0.038 |
| Pentraxin-3, ng/mL | 28 | 0.45 (0.17) | 15 | 0.73 (0.27)∗‡ | 11 | 0.75 (0.31)∗‡ | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| ESR, mm/h | 29 | 6.58 (4.79) | 14 | 21.64 (16.94)∗‡ | 11 | 61.27 (22.93)∗#‡¥ | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| hsCRP, mg/L | 29 | 0.84 (0.71) | 15 | 4.48 (6.2) | 11 | 32.9 (32.84)∗#‡¥ | 0.004 | <0.001 |
| TNF-α, pg/mL | 28 | 1.78 (1.07) | 15 | 2.06 (0.53) | 11 | 3.33 (1.24)∗#‡¥ | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Interleukin-6, pg/mL | 28 | 0.86 (0.41) | 15 | 4.54 (5.11)* | 11 | 14.93 (8.72)∗#‡¥ | <0.001 | <0.001 |
Data are shown as unadjusted means (SD).
∧Low DAS28 = (2.6–5.1); high DAS28 = (>5.1).
Nv: valid cases; RA: rheumatoid arthritis; ADMA: asymmetric dimethyl-L-arginine; SDMA: symmetric dimethyl-L-arginine; sVCAM-1: soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1; MCP-1: monocyte chemotactic protein-1; sE-selectin: soluble E-selectin; vWF: von Willebrand factor.
uaUnadjusted P value in ANOVA (GLM models). *P < 0.05 versus control group and # P < 0.05 versus RA patients with low disease activity in post hoc analyses for unadjusted ANOVA.
aAge-sex adjusted Pvalue for the defining groups of patients in ANOVA (GLM models)—type III sum of square (SS) was used.
‡ P < 0.05 versus control group and ¥ P ≤ 0.05 versus RA patients with low disease activity in post hoc analyses for adjusted ANOVA.