Table 1. Demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics of the study population.
| Variables | Control group (n = 70) | AS group (n = 64) | p value |
| Age (years) | 54.9 ± 8.5 | 55.7 ± 9.2 | 0.480 |
| Male gender | 55 (78.0%) | 53 (82.8%) | 0.085 |
| Smoking | 9 (12.0%) | 11 (17.2%) | 0.186 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 23.8 ± 2.5 | 22.9 ± 2.6 | 0.398 |
| Vital signs | |||
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 125.5 ± 12.5 | 116.3 ± 13.2 | 0.550 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 75.1 ± 8.0 | 72.6 ± 7.1 | 0.520 |
| Heart rate (beats/min) | 76.8 ± 9.5 | 75.2 ± 11.3 | 0.365 |
| Blood biochemistry | |||
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 0.98 ± 0.35 | 1.02 ± 0.21 | 0.755 |
| Hemoglobin (mg/dL) | 13.5 ± 2.8 | 14.1 ± 2.3 | 0.425 |
| LDL-cholesterol (mg/dL) | 115.5 ± 18.5 | 113.6 ± 16.4 | 0.678 |
| ESR | 6.5 ± 2.5 | 6.2 ± 1.8 | 0.350 |
| CRP | 0.63 ± 1.4 | 0.55 ± 1.2 | 0.485 |
AS, ankylosing spondylitis; CRP, C-reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; LDL, low-density lipoprotein.
Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation or n (%).