Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients included in the study, N = 3021
| With university/college degree | Without university/college degree | Total | Chi square statistics, p values | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A: Basic characteristics | number (%) | number (%) | number (%) | |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 586 (82.4) | 1585 (68.6) | 2171 (71.9) | 51.2, <0.0001 |
| Male | 125 (17.6) | 725 (31.4) | 850 (28.1) | |
| Age (years) at diagnosis | ||||
| <40 | 164 (23.1) | 410 (17.8) | 574 (19.0) | 44.6, <0.0001 |
| 40–50 | 160 (22.5) | 370 (16.0) | 530 (17.5) | |
| 50–60 | 215 (30.2) | 694 (30.0) | 909 (30.1) | |
| 60–70 | 172 (24.2) | 836 (36.2) | 1008 (33.4) | |
| Median | 51.0 | 52.4 | 54.5 | |
| Treatment initiated at the diagnosis | ||||
| DMARDs (including MTX) | 606 (85.2) | 2004 (86.8) | 2610 (86.4) | 1.1, 0.30 |
| Biologics | 32 (4.5) | 145 (6.3) | 177 (5.9) | 3.1, 0.08 |
| Cortisone | 276 (38.8) | 946 (41.0) | 1223 (40.5) | 1.0, 0.32 |
| NSAIDs | 384 (54.0) | 1153 (49.9) | 1537 (50.9) | 0.6, 0.06 |
| ACPA status | ||||
| Present | 458 (65.2) | 1521 (66.8) | 1979 (66.4) | 0.6, 0.44 |
| Absent | 245 (34.8) | 757 (33.2) | 1002 (33.6) | |
| Cigarette smoking | ||||
| Never | 297 (41.8) | 674 (29.3) | 971 (32.4) | 76.0, <0.0001 |
| Past smokers | 216 (30.5) | 701 (30.5) | 917 (30.4) | |
| Current smokers | 106 (14.9) | 682 (29.7) | 788 (26.2) | |
| Non regular smokers | 91 (12.8) | 242 (10.5) | 333 (11.0) | |
| Alcohol consumption | ||||
| Never drinkers | 49 (6.9) | 266 (11.5) | 315 (10.4) | 12.5, 0.0004 |
| Ever drinkers | 662 (93.1) | 2041 (88.5) | 2703 (89.6) | |
| BMI | ||||
| Normal weight: BMI <25 | 445 (63.9) | 1103 (48.6) | 1548 (52.2) | 51.1, <0.0001 |
| Overweight: BMI 25–30 | 189 (27.1) | 821 (36.2) | 1010 (34.1) | |
| Obese: BMI >30 | 63 (9.0) | 344 (15.2) | 407 (13.7) | |
| Median | 23.7 | 25.1 | 24.8 | |
| Physical activity before diagnosis | ||||
| Sedentary/moderate exercise | 518 (73.0) | 1513 (65.8) | 2031 (67.5) | 12.7, 0.0004 |
| Regular exercise/work out | 192 (27.0) | 787 (34.2) | 979 (32.5) | |
| B: Outcome measures | Median (IQR) | Median (IQR) | Median (IQR) | P values (Wilcoxon test) |
| DAS28 at diagnosis | 5.23 (4.26 to 6.05) | 5.21 (4.32 to 6.07) | 5.22 (4.30 to 6.06) | 0.93 |
| VAS-pain at diagnosis | 49 (28 to 67) | 53 (33 to 71) | 51 (32 to 70) | <0.0001 |
| HAQ at diagnosis | 0.88 (0.50 to 1.38) | 1.00 (0.63 to 1.50) | 1.00 (0.63 to 1.38) | 0.001 |
| DAS28 change at 3-month visit | –1.69 (–2.80 to –0.72) | –1.63 (–2.72 to –0.62) | –1.65 (–2.74 to –0.63) | 0.19 |
| VAS-pain change at 3-month visit | –17 (–40 to –2) | –20 (–43 to –1) | –19 (–42 to –1) | 0.69 |
| HAQ change at 3-month visit | –0.38 (–0.75 to 0.00) | –0.37 (–0.75 to 0.00) | –0.37 (–0.75 to 0.00) | 0.28 |
| DAS28 change at 6-month visit | –2.19 (–3.13 to –1.01) | –2.02 (–3.06 to –0.91) | –2.05 (–3.08 to –0.93) | 0.19 |
| VAS-pain change at 6-month visit | –20 (–41 to –2) | –21 (–43 to –1) | –21 (–42 to –1) | 0.94 |
| HAQ change at 6-month visit | –0.50 (–0.88 to –0.12) | –0.38 (–0.87 to 0.00) | –0.38 (–0.87 to 0.00) | 0.19 |
| DAS28 change at 1-year visit | –2.37 (–3.40 to –1.28) | –2.16 (–3.30 to –0.96) | –2.21 (–3.32 to –1.03) | 0.02 |
| VAS-pain change at 1-year visit | –20 (–42 to –5) | –22 (–43 to 0) | –21 (–43 to –1) | 0.72 |
| HAQ change at 1-year visit | –0.50 (–0.88 to –0.13) | –0.38 (–0.88 to 0.00) | –0.38 (–0.88 to 0.00) | 0.02 |
DMARD disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug, MTX methotrexate, NSAID non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, ACPA anti-citrullinated protein/peptide antibodies, BMI body mass index, DAS28 disease activity in 28 joints, VAS visual analog scale, HAQ health assessment questionnaire