Table 2.
Associations between presence of atherosclerotic plaques and clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics and use of different DMARDs.
| Presence of atherosclerotic plaques in carotid and/or femoral arteries (n = 74) |
Lack of atherosclerotic plaques in carotid and femoral arteries (n = 242) |
P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RA duration, years | 10.54 (9.41) | 10.76 (8.86) | 0.8 |
| ESR, mm/h | 31.17 (24.39) | 22.49 (21.4) | 0.0008 |
| CRP, mg/dL | 1.99 (2.9) | 1.42 (2.66) | 0.07 |
| Creatinine, mg/dL | 0.81 (0.3) | 0.7 (0.21) | 0.0007 |
| DAS28 | 4.63 (1.51) | 4.73 (1.57) | 0.6 |
| Framingham 10-year risk score | 10.1 (6.22) | 6.01 (5.16) | <1 × 10−6 |
| Methotrexate ever | 65 (87.84%) | 237 (97.93%) | 0.0002 |
| Sulphasalazine ever | 30 (40.54%) | 117 (48.35%) | 0.2 |
| Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine ever | 22 (29.72%) | 76 (31.4%) | 0.8 |
| Gold salts ever | 8 (10.81%) | 38 (15.7%) | 0.3 |
| Azathioprine ever | 5 (6.76%) | 13 (5.37%) | 0.7 |
| Cyclophosphamide ever | 2 (2.7%) | 5 (2.07%) | 0.7 |
| Cyclosporine A ever | 10 (13.51%) | 67 (27.69%) | 0.01 |
| Leflunomide ever | 28 (37.84%) | 95 (39.26%) | 0.8 |
| Biologic agents ever | 5 (6.76) | 56 (23.14%) | 0.002 |
| Infliximab ever | 1 (1.35%) | 23 (9.5%) | 0.02 |
| Adalimumab ever | 0 (0%) | 12 (4.96%) | 0.0503 |
| Etanercept ever | 2 (2.7%) | 37 (15.29%) | 0.004 |
| Rituximab ever | 0 (0%) | 13 (5.37%) | 0.04 |
| Continuous treatment with DMARDs | 27 (36.49%) | 114 (47.11%) | 0.1 |
| RF positivity | 59 (79.73%) | 158 (67.81)▲ | 0.0497 |
| ACPA positivity | 49 (76.56%)# | 162 (77.51%)† | 0.9 |
| Presence of erosions in hand and/or feet X-ray | 42 (68.58%)‡ | 134 (71.66%)§ | 0.8 |
Data is presented as mean (standard deviation) for continuous variables and number (percentage) for categorical variables. #Data available for 64 patients. ‡Data available for 61 patients. ▲Data available for 233 patients. †Data available for 209 patients. §Data available for 187 patients.