Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the 1003 AS patients and 1747 RA patients who were working at baseline
| Parameter | AS | n | RA | n | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 40.7 (10.6) | 1003 | 47.3 (9.9) | 1747 | |
| Female, % | 36.7 | 1003 | 72.4 | 1747 | |
| Disease duration (years), mean (SD) | 7.3 (7.8) | 979 | 7.9 (7.6) | 1654 | |
| Disease activity | 0–10 Likert, mean (SD) | 6.3 (1.7) | 1000 | – | |
| 0–100 mm VAS, mean (SD) | – | 59.1 (18.0) | 1724 | ||
| CRP (mg/dL), median (min, max) | 1.0 (0.0, 42.7) | 906 | 0.9 (0.0, 20.0) | 1534 | |
| Fatigue | 0–10 cm VAS, mean (SD) | 5.6 (2.4) | 997 | – | |
| 0–100 mm VAS, mean (SD) | – | 57.4 (24.9) | 1735 | ||
| Pain | 0–10 Likert, mean (SD) | 6.3 (2.2) | 990 | – | |
| 0–100 mm VAS, mean (SD) | – | 61.6 (21.4) | 1736 | ||
| Anxiety/depression (EQ-5D) |
No problems, % | 53.6 | 998 | 52.1 | 1738 |
| Some problems, % | 42.7 | 44.4 | |||
| Extreme problems, % | 3.7 | 3.6 | |||
| WPAI:SHP | |||||
| % work time missed due to AS/RAa | No timed missed | 61.9 | 776 | 61.3 | 1293 |
| Some time missed | 38.1 | 38.7 | |||
| % impairment while working due to AS/RAb, mean (SD) | 48.3 (26.9) | 889 | 49.5 (27.1) | 1530 | |
| % overall work impairment due to AS/RAc, mean (SD) | 52.9 (29.8) | 716 | 54.1 (29.0) | 1171 | |
| % activity impairment due to AS/RAd, mean (SD) | 53.4 (24.6) | 990 | 54.0 (24.9) | 1718 | |
aAbsenteeism
bPresenteeism
cWork productivity loss
dActivity impairment
AS, ankylosing spondylitis; CRP, C-reactive protein; EQ-5D, European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; SD, standard deviation; VAS, visual analogue scale; WPAI:SHP, Work Productivity and Activity Impairment—Special Health Problems