Table 1.

Clinical characteristics of the study subjects.

Character	Controls (n = 28)	eRA patients (n = 30)	p value
Age (yrs) (mean ± stdev)	52.36 ± 13.38	55.77 ± 10.87	NS (p = 0.391)
Gender (male/female)	6/22	6/24	—
DAS28	—	4.80 ± 0.84	—
Mild (2.6 < DAS28 ≤ 3.2) (n)	—	5
Moderate (3.2 < DAS28 ≤ 5.1) (n)	—	10
Severe (5.1 < DAS28) (n)	—	15
CRP (mg/L)	5.01 ± 2.22	16.97 ± 5.14	p < 0.0001
ESR (mm/h)	11.89 ± 6.24	33.60 ± 12.35	p < 0.0001