Table 4.
Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of total follow-up cohort and the remitting and nonremitting subgroups.
| Parameters | Total patients (n = 30) | Remitting patients (n = 15) | Nonremitting patients (n = 15) | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (mean ± SD) | 45.56 ± 16.99 | 46.26 ± 17.22 | 44.86 ± 17.34 | NS∗ |
|
| ||||
| Gender (%) | ||||
| Male | 2 (6.7) | 2 (13.3) | 0 (0.0) | NS |
| Female | 28 (93.3) | 13 (86.6) | 15 (100.0) | |
|
| ||||
| BMI (Kg/m 2) (mean ± SD) | 25.18 ± 5.24 | 24.87 ± 3.34 | 25.52 ± 6.84 | NS |
|
| ||||
| Cigarette (pack/years; mean ± SD) | 0.33 ± 1.82 | 0.00 ± 0.00 | 0.66 ± 2.58 | |
|
| ||||
| Hookah (%) | 4 (13.3) | 1 (6.6) | 3 (20) | NS |
|
| ||||
| Education | NS | |||
| Illiterate (%) | 12 (40.0) | 6 (40.0) | 6 (40.0) | |
| Less than diploma (%) | 5 (16.7) | 1 (6.6) | 4 (26.7) | |
| Diploma (%) | 8 (26.6) | 4 (26.7) | 4 (26.7) | |
| Higher education (%) | 5 (16.7) | 4 (26.7) | 1 (6.6) | |
|
| ||||
| Length of symptom prior to study (months; mean ± SD) | 8.20 ± 4.22 | 8.20 ± 4.63 | 8.20 ± 3.94 | NS |
|
| ||||
| Positive rheumatoid factor (%) | 26 (86.7) | 12 (80) | 14 (93.3) | NS |
|
| ||||
| Comorbidity | NS | |||
| No comorbidity (%) | 17 (56.6) | 7 (80.0) | 10 (66.6) | |
| Type 2 diabetes mellitus (%) | 3 (10.0) | 1 (6.6) | 2 (13.3) | |
| Hypertension (%) | 6 (20.0) | 5 (33.3) | 1 (6.6) | |
| Dyslipidemia (%) | 6 (20) | 2 (13.3) | 4 (26.6) | |
| Other factors (%) | 5 (16.6) | 4 (26.6) | 1 (6.6) | |
∗Nonsignificant.