Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with axSpA participating in exercise therapy
| All (n = 40) | AS (n = 22) | nr-axSpA (n = 18) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 36.78 ± 1.09 | 36.91 ± 1.16 | 36.61 ± 2.03 | ns |
| Gender (% female) | 32.5 | 18.2 | 50.0 | 0.05 |
| BMI at baseline | 25.25 ± 0.44 | 25.51 ± 0.76 | 25.02 ± 0.50 | ns |
| Disease duration since first symptoms (years) | 9.94 ± 1.31 | 12.27 ± 1.42 | 7.10 ± 2.19 | ˂0.001 |
| Disease duration since diagnosis (years) | 4.03 ± 0.75 | 5.84 ± 1.17 | 1.81 ± 0.52 | ˂0.01 |
| HLA-B27 positivity (%) | 90.0 | 90.9 | 88.8 | ns |
| History of uveitis/exacerbation (%)a | 35.0/7.5 | 27.7/9.1 | 44.4/5.5 | ns |
| History of peripheral arthritis/exacerbation (%)a | 42.5/2.5 | 45.5/4.5 | 38.9/0 | ns |
| Hip involvement (%) | 17.5% | 22.7% | 11.1% | ns |
| Therapy - NSA (daily use/on demand) (%) | 100 (27.5/72.5) | 100 (18.2/81.8) | 100 (38.9/61.1) | ns |
| NSA changes during exercise therapy/changes to daily use (%) | 7.5/2.5 | 0/0 | 16.7/5.5 | ns |
| Therapy - sulfasalazin (%) | 10.0 | 4.5 | 16.6 | ns |
| Therapy – biological agents (%)b | 5.0 | 9.0 | 0 | ns |
| Smokers ever/current | 25.0/20.0 | 31.8/27.3 | 22.2/16.7 | ns |
aExacerbations of uveitis/arthritis occurred during exercise intervention. No extraarticular signs other than uveitis were manifested. bOnly tumour necrosis factor alpha inhibitors (TNFi) were used in long-term therapy for high disease activity. Statistical analysis: p value was calculated for comparison between the ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and the axial non-radiographic spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) group using either the Mann-Whitney test or chi-squared/Fisher´s exact test. Data are characterised as mean ± standard deviation unless stated otherwise. axSpA axial spondyloarthritis, BMI body mass index, NSA non-steroidal antirheumatic drugs, ns not significant