Table 1.

General characteristics of the group (n = 126)

nominal variables	0	1	p
sex (female/ male)	45 (35.7%)	81 (64.3%)	0.002
dwelling (rural/ urban)	38 (30.2%)	88 (69.8%)	< 0.001
smoking (no/ yes)	92 (73.1%)	34 (26.9%)	< 0.001
axial SpA (no/ yes)	9 (7.1%)	117 (92.9%)	< 0.001
peripheral SpA (no/ yes)	33 (26.2%)	93 (73.8%)	< 0.001
peripheral arthritis (no/ yes)	50 (39.7%)	76 (60.3%)	0.026
X-ray sacroiliitis (no/ yes)	78 (61.9%)	48 (38.1%)	0.010
MRI sacroiliitis (no/ yes)	120 (95.2%)	4 (3.2%)	< 0.001
HLA B27 (absent/ present)	7 (5.6%)	78 (61.9%)	< 0.001
NSAIDs (no/ yes)	52 (41.3%)	74 (58.7%)	0.061
sulfasalazine (no/ yes)	70 (55.6%)	56 (44.4%)	0.247
infliximab (no/ yes)	91 (72.2%)	35 (27.8%)	< 0.001
adalimumab (no/ yes)	106 (84.1%)	20 (15.9%)	< 0.001
etanercept (no/ yes)	104 (82.5%)	22 (17.5%)	< 0.001
AHT (no/ yes)	88 (69.8%)	38 (30.2%)	< 0.001
dyslipidemia (no/ yes)	83 (65.9%)	43 (34.1%)	< 0.001
DM2 (no/ yes)	116 (92.1%)	10 (7.9%)	< 0.001
obesity (no/ yes)	119 (94.4%)	7 (5.6%)	< 0.001
osteoporosis (no/ yes)	118 (93.6%)	8 (6.4%)	< 0.001
scale variables	mean	interval	SD
age (years)	39.7	21-61	11.1
disease duration (years)	9.1	0.25-37	8.4
ESR (mm/ h)	22.9	2-114	28.8
fibrinogen (mg/ dL)	309.7	172-577	112.5
CRP (mg/ L)	23.7	0-258	47.9
BASDAI	3.23	0-9.4	2.81
BASFI	3.32	0-22.5	3.72
Note: scale variables are reported as “mean (interval, SD)”, while nominal variables are reported as “frequency (subgroup percentage), p values represent the significance of the binomial test under the assumption of a 50% pre-test probability.
Abbreviations: AHT = arterial hypertension, BASDAI = Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index, BASFI = Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index, CRP = C-reactive protein, DM2 = type 2 diabetes mellitus, ESR = erythrocyte sedimentation rate, HLA = human leukocyte antigen, MRI = magnetic resonance imaging, NSAIDs = non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, SpA = spondyloarthritis, SD = standard deviation.