Table 1.
Characteristics of the patientsa
| Characteristic | RA (n = 19) | Non‐RA (n = 20) | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 69 ± 9.1 | 68 ± 9.5 | 0.70 |
| Male, no. (%) | 12 (63) | 14 (70) | 0.74 |
| Duration of CAD, years | 6.3 ± 8.7 | 7.2 ± 6.6 | 0.39 |
| History of myocardial infarction, no. (%) | 15 (79) | 9 (45) | 0.05 |
| Acute coronary syndrome, no. (%) | 9 (47) | 4 (20) | 0.10 |
| Time from angiography to CABG, days | 17 ± 30 | 31 ± 60 | 0.99 |
| Left ventricular ejection fraction | 59 ± 13 | 64 ± 13 | 0.16 |
| Hypertension, no. (%) | 13 (68) | 9 (45) | 0.20 |
| Family history of CAD, no. (%) | 11 (58) | 20 (100) | 0.001 |
| Hyperlipidemia, no. (%) | 16 (84) | 20 (100) | 0.11 |
| Duration of RA, years | 19 ± 15 | – | – |
| Patient's global assessment of IRD (0–100‐mm VAS) | 29 ± 24 | – | – |
| No. of swollen joints (28 assessed) | 2.2 ± 2.6 | 0 | 0.002 |
| Disease Activity Score in 28 joints | 3.2 ± 1.0 | – | – |
| Rheumatoid factor, IU/ml | 316 ± 568 | – | – |
| CCP, units/ml | 553 ± 667 | – | – |
| C‐reactive protein, mg/liter | 20 ± 39 | 3.1 ± 3.1 | 0.02 |
| ESR, mm/hour | 34 ± 29 | 15 ± 9.5 | 0.06 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 25 ± 5.0 | 25 ± 2.4 | 0.78 |
| Diabetes, no. (%) | 2 (11) | 1 (5) | 0.61 |
| Previous smoker, no. (%) | 10 (52) | 12 (60) | 0.75 |
| Current smoker, no. (%) | 2 (11) | 1 (5) | 0.61 |
| Current treatment, no. (%) | |||
| Oral corticosteroids | 8 (42) | 0 (0) | 0.001 |
| Disease‐modifying drugs | 16 (84) | 0 (0) | <0.0001 |
| COX‐2–selective inhibitors | 5 (26) | 0 (0) | 0.02 |
| Traditional NSAIDs | 2 (11) | 0 (0) | 0.23 |
| Lipid‐lowering drugs | 16 (84) | 19 (95) | 0.34 |
| Acetylsalicylic acid | 17 (90) | 17 (85) | 1.0 |
| Beta‐blockers | 15 (88) | 14 (74) | 0.41 |
| ACE inhibitors | 5 (31) | 5 (25) | 0.47 |
Fisher's unconditional exact test was used to assess differences in proportions between the 2 groups. Differences in continuous variables between the 2 groups were assessed by t‐test for independent samples (age, body mass index), Mann‐Whitney U test (duration of coronary artery disease [CAD], time from angiography to coronary artery bypass graft [CABG], left ventricular ejection fraction, erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR]), and Wilcoxon's signed rank test (no. of swollen joints). Except where indicated otherwise, values are the mean ± SD. RA = rheumatoid arthritis; IRD = inflammatory rheumatic disease; VAS = visual analog scale; CCP = cyclic citrullinated peptide; COX‐2 = cyclooxygenase 2; NSAIDs = nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs; ACE = angiotensin‐converting enzyme.