Table 3.

Association of ESR with the IMT progression rate, stratified by the number of CV risk factors present

Strata	Rate difference per ESR 10 mm/h	95% CIs	p Value
Unstratified
	0.0008	0.0001 to 0.0016	0.02
No. of CV risk factors
0	−0.0006	−0.0019 to 0.0007	0.3
1	0.0002	−0.0006 to 0.0011	0.5
2	0.0011	0.0003 to 0.0019	0.004
3	0.0020	0.0008 to 0.0031	0.001
≥ 4	0.0029	0.0011 to 0.0045	0.001

Models are adjusted for age at RA onset, RA duration and sex.

Rate difference represents the difference in progression rates, in millimetres per year, associated an ESR increase of 10 mm/h.

CV, cardiovascular; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; IMT, intima-media thickness; RA, rheumatoid arthritis.