Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the Spanish patients with RA included in the study.
| Clinical Feature | % (n/N) | |
| Patients | 2027 | |
| Main characteristics | Age at the time of disease onset (years, mean ± SD) | 51.2±14.9 |
| Follow-up (years, mean ± SD) | 11.7±8.4 | |
| Female gender | 75.3 (1527/2027) | |
| Rheumatoid factor positive* | 68.6 (1344/1958) | |
| Anti-CCP antibodies positive | 58.2 (997/1714) | |
| Shared epitope positive | 63.7 (726/1139) | |
| Cardiovascular risk factors | Hypertension | 38.2 (763/1996) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 12.3 (246/1995) | |
| Dyslipidemia | 35.9 (713/1984) | |
| Obesity | 18.8 (345/1840) | |
| Smoking habit | 24.9 (491/1974) | |
| Patients with cardiovascular events | 18.3 (370/2027) | |
| Ischemic heart disease | 8.9 (180/2020) | |
| Heart failure | 5.6 (113/2027) | |
| Cerebrovascular accident | 5.4 (109/2027) | |
| Peripheral arteriopathy | 2.6 (52/2025) | |
CCP: cyclic citrullinated protein/peptide antibodies; RA: rheumatoid arthritis; SD: standard deviation.
*At least two determinations at different times were required.