Table 1.
Baseline characteristics
| All patients | Patients with complete follow-up | Patients who became lost to follow-up | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 120 | n = 103 | n = 17 | ||
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 55.7 (13.2) | 55.6 (13) | 56 (15.3) | |
| Sex, female, number (%) | 80 (66.7) | 71 (68.9) | 9 (52.9) | |
| TJC, median (IQR) | 5 (2–11) | 4 (2–11) | 6 (3–10) | |
| SJC, median (IQR) | 3 (2–7) | 4 (2–8) | 3 (1–7) | |
| ESR, mean (SD) | 30.5 (23.3) | 30.9 (24.1) | 27.7 (17.9) | |
| DAS28, mean (SD) | 4.66 (1.3) | 4.66 (1.29) | 4.6 (1.4) | |
| HAQ, median (IQR) | 0.75 (0.38–1.13) | 0.75 (0.38–1.14) | 0.75 (0.25–1) | |
| RF, % positive | 93 (77.5) | 79 (76.7) | 14 (82.4) | |
| ACPA, % positive | 85 (70.8) | 75 (72.8) | 10 (58.8) | |
| Symptom duration, >6 wk (%) | 104 (86.7) | 91 (89.2) | 13 (81.3) | |
| Number of DMARDs at baseline (%) | 1 | 54 (45) 52 | 44 (42.7) | 10 (58.8) |
| 2 | 39 (32.5) | 34 (33) | 5 (29.4) | |
| 3 | 23 (19.2) | 21 (20.4) | 2 (11.8) | |
| 4 | 4 (3.3) | 4 (3.4) | – | |
| Subcutaneous use of MTX during 1-year follow-up (%) | 20 (16.7) | 16 (15.5) | 4 (23.5) | |
| Use of biologicals during 1-year follow-up (%) | 11 (9.2) | 10 (9.7) | 1 (5.9) | |
| Education level | Low (%) | 58 (50.4) | 48 (48) | 10 (66.7) |
| Intermediate (%) | 34 (29.6) | 29 (29) | 5 (33.3) | |
| High (%) | 23 (20) | 23 (23) | – | |
| HADS depression, mean (SD) | 4.5 (SD 2.7) | 4.4 (2.7) | 4.6 (2.9) | |
| HADS anxiety, mean (SD) | 5.7 (SD 4.4) | 5.9 (4.5) | 4.5 (4.1) | |
SD standard deviation, TJC tender joint count, IQR interquartile range, SJC swollen joint count, ESR erythrocyte sedimentation rate, DAS28 28-joint count disease activity score, HAQ health assessment questionnaire, RF rheumatoid factor, ACPA anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies, DMARDs disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, MTX methotrexate, HADS Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale