Table 2.
Time-course changes in biochemical, clinical, and functional measures during 15-month anti-TNF-α therapy
| Time after starting anti-TNF-α therapy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T0 (baseline) | T1 (3 months) | T2 (9 months) | T3 (15 months) | |
| Women with RA, n (%) | 29 (100) | |||
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 44.38 (14.17) | |||
| Disease duration (years), median (IQR) | 5 (3–8) | |||
| BMI (kg/m2), mean (SD) | 21.25 (2.28) | |||
| RF positive, n (%) | 29 (100) | |||
| Anti-CCP positive, n (%) | 29 (100) | |||
| SJC28, median (IQR) | 6 (5–10) | 3 (2–3)a, c, d | 0 (0–1)a, b | 0 (0–0)a, b |
| TJC28, median (IQR) | 14 (10–20) | 5 (3–7)a, c, d | 2 (1–2)a, b, d | 0 (0–1)a, b, c |
| VAS, median (IQR) | 80 (80–80) | 50 (35–55)a, c, d | 25 (10–30)a, b, d | 10 (5–20)a, b, c |
| DAS28 ESR, mean (SD) | 5.99 (0.50) | 4.00 (0.73)a, c, d | 2.74 (0.72)a, b, d | 2.06 (0.64)a, b, c |
| Disease activity, n (%) | ||||
| High (> 5.1) | 29 (100) | 2 (6.90) | 0 | 0 |
| Moderate (> 3.2 and ≤ 5.1) | 0 | 24 (82.76) | 6 (20.69) | 0 |
| Low (≤ 3.2 and > 2.6) | 0 | 3 (10.34) | 12 (41.38) | 6 (20.69) |
| Remission (≤ 2.6) | 0 | 0 | 11 (37.93) | 23 (79.31) |
| ESR (mm/h), median (IQR) | 15.0 (10.0–31.0) | 10.0 (8.0–17.0) | 10.0 (8.0–14.0)a | 11.0 (8.0–14.0)a |
| CRP (mg/l), median (IQR) | 5.0 (4.0–9.2) | 4.0 (2.0–4.0) | 3.0 (1.30–4.0)a | 2.0 (1.0–4.0)a |
| TNFαI therapy, n (%) | ||||
| Etanercept (Enbrel) | 13 (44.83) | |||
| Adalimumab (Humira) | 14 (48.27) | |||
| Certolizumab pegol (Cimzia) | 2 (6.90) | |||
Differences noted for all variables (except DAS28 ESR) considered significant at p < 0.0083 by applying Bonferroni correction. Differences noted for DAS28 ESR considered significant at p < 0.001
anti-CCP anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody, BMI body mass index, CRP C-reactive protein, DAS28 Disease Activity Score based on evaluation of 28 joints, ESR erythrocyte sedimentation rate, IQR interquartile range, RA rheumatoid arthritis, RF rheumatoid factor, SD standard deviation, SJC28 swollen joint count of 28 joints, TJC28 tender joint count of 28 joints, TNF-α tumor necrosis factor alpha, TNFαI tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors, VAS Visual analog scale
aStatistically significant differences compared to T0
bStatistically significant differences compared to T1
cStatistically significant differences compared to T2
dStatistically significant differences compared to T3