Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of study population
| Variable | RA Group (n = 85) | Control group (n = 39) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiovascular risk factors | |||
| Age (years) | 60.6 ± 11.9 | 57.2 ± 8.6 | 0.073 |
| Male sex (%) | 23.1 | 16.5 | 0.380 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 26.5 ± 4.6 | 26.9 ± 4.2 | 0.613 |
| Office SBP (mm Hg) | 123.7 ± 14.2 | 121.5 ± 10.6 | 0.327 |
| Office DBP (mm Hg) | 73.6 ± 7.6 | 76.0 ± 8.2 | 0.140 |
| Heart rate (beats/min) | 69.9 ± 11.4 | 68.1 ± 7.7 | 0.094 |
| Smoking (%) | 22.3 | 17.9 | 0.786 |
| Hypertension (%) | 46.8 | 0.0 | <0.001 |
| Diabetes mellitus (%) | 8.2 | 0.0 | 0.081 |
| Cardiovascular events (%) | 9.4 | 0.0 | 0.059 |
| Biochemical measurements | |||
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 205.9 ± 41.5 | 221.1 ± 35.1 | 0.016 |
| Triglycerides (mg/dL) | 114.0 (79.0‐150.0) | 99.5 (76.0‐142.0) | 0.150 |
| HDL‐C (mg/dL) | 54.4 ± 12.8 | 53.4 ± 12.5 | 0.677 |
| LDL‐C (mg/dL) | 128.6 ± 35.3 | 141.2 ± 27.9 | 0.073 |
| Galectin‐3 (ng/dL) | 17.7 (9.8–33.5) | 9.1 (6.0–12.0) | <0.001 |
| Markers of arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis | |||
| Central SBP (mm Hg) | 115.7 ± 12.8 | 112.6 ± 11.6 | 0.199 |
| Central DBP (mm Hg) | 74.9 ± 7.9 | 75.8 ± 10.7 | 0.206 |
| Central pulse pressure (mm Hg) | 40.8 ± 10.8 | 36.8 ± 10.6 | 0.022 |
| Peripheral pulse pressure (mm Hg) | 50.1 ± 11.5 | 45.4 ± 7.3 | 0.007 |
| PWV (m/s) | 8.3 ± 2.2 | 7.3 ± 1.3 | 0.003 |
| cIMT (mm) | 0.68 ± 0.13 | 0.62 ± 0.09 | 0.004 |
| Systemic vascular resistance (dyn·s·cm−5/m2) | 2048 ± 620 | 1986 ± 533 | 0.813 |
| Total arterial compliance (ml/m2/mm Hg) | 1.08 ± 0.39 | 1.15 ± 0.33 | 0.273 |
| Markers of cardiac function | |||
| Cardiac output (l/min/m2) | 3.4 ± 0.8 | 3.5 ± 0.8 | 0.477 |
| Stroke volume (ml/m2) | 49.5 ± 12.4 | 52.5 ± 11.3 | 0.210 |
| Acceleration index (1/100/s2) | 86.9 ± 35.3 | 88.4 ± 35.5 | 0.835 |
| Velocity index (1/1000/s) | 56.3 ± 17.0 | 54.8 ± 15.9 | 0.662 |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; cIMT, carotid intima‐media thickness; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; HDL‐C, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL‐C, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol; PWV, pulse wave velocity; RA: rheumatoid arthritis; SBP, systolic blood pressure.
Results are demonstrated as Mean ± SD / Median (IQ range).