Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis
| Rheumatoid arthritis | Psoriatic arthritis | Ankylosing spondylitis | p value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 152) | (n = 90) | (n = 69) | |||
| Age (years) | 47.6 ± 19.3 | 50.2 ± 13.4 | 39.7 ± 15.2 | <0.0001 | |
| 50.0 | 52.0 | 38 | |||
| Baseline (mg/dl) | TCa,b | 180.6 ± 37.6 | 186.4 ± 35.2 | 174.3 ± 38.9 | NS |
| 183.0 | 185.0 | 172.0 | |||
| HDLa,c | 53.92 ± 15.67 | 51.23 ± 14.51 | 46.40 ± 13.31 | 0.003 | |
| 52.08 | 48.25 | 43.38 | |||
| LDLa,d | 108.77 ± 25.63 | 114.43 ± 22.31 | 111.67 ± 34.09 | NS | |
| 110.70 | 117.14 | 109.39 | |||
| TGa,e | 111.35 ± 53.44 | 128.36 ± 57.32 | 109.49 ± 53.87 | 0.04 | |
| 96.46 | 119.00 | 106.00 | |||
| Gender | Male | 39 (25.7) | 26 (28.9) | 44 (64.0) | <0.0001 |
| Female | 113 (74.3) | 64 (71.1) | 25 (36.0) | ||
| Statin treatment | Treated before and during treatment with TNF-α inhibitors | 25 (18.4) | 22 (24.4) | 9 (13.0) | NS |
| Began treatment after beginning TNF-α inhibitors treatment | 18 (11.8) | 11 (12.2) | 8 (11.6) | ||
| Medication | Classical DMARDsf | 93 (62.0) | 35 (39.3) | 20 (31.3) | <0.0001 |
| Steroids | 88 (58.7) | 26 (29.2) | 17 (26.6) | <0.0001 | |
| Smoking | Current or past | 40 (26.3) | 27 (30.0) | 31 (44.9) | 0.02 |
| Obesity | 27 (17.8) | 22 (24.4) | 6 (8.7) | 0.04 | |
| Hyperlipidemia | 57 (37.5) | 47 (52.2) | 22 (32.0) | 0.02 | |
| Diabetes | 17 (11.2) | 17 (18.9) | 1 (1.4) | 0.003 | |
| Hypertension | 55 (36.2) | 36 (40.0) | 14 (20.3) | 0.02 | |
| Ischemic heart disease | 21 (13.8) | 7 (7.8) | 4 (5.8) | NS | |
Data presented as standard deviation with median below, or as n (%)
aBecause of missing values of lipid profile at various time points, the number of patients for each lipid profile test differed
bTC: 152 RA, 90 PsA, and 69 AS patients
cHDL: 113 RA, 74 PsA, and 46 AS patients
dLDL: 122RA, 73 PsA, and 50 AS patients
eTG: 120 RA, 71 PsA, and 49 AS patients
fClassical DMARDs: leflunomide, azathioprine, cyclosporin, mercaptopurine, methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine, sulfasalazine
TC total cholesterol, HDL high-density lipoprotein, LDL low-density lipoprotein, TG, triglycerides, TNF-α tumor necrosis factor alpha, DMARD disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug, RA rheumatoid arthritis, AS ankylosing spondylitis, PsA psoriatic arthritis, NS not significant