Table 1.
Clinical characteristics and patient-reported outcome measures
| r-axSpA n = 40 | Nr-axSpA n = 60 | P | P (Sex) | P (AxSpA) | P (AxSpA*Sex) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male (n = 30) | Female (n = 10) | Male (n = 25) | Female (n = 35) | |||||
| Demographics | ||||||||
| Age, years, median [Q1; Q3] | 48 [41; 55] | 46 [38; 62] | 40 [29; 51] | 48 [36; 52] | 0.18a | 0.39 | 0.04 | 0.67 |
| BMI, kg/m2, median [Q1; Q3] | 25.7 [23.2; 30.9] | 22.7 [20.6; 24.8] | 28.1 [23.3; 30.2] | 24.5 [23.3; 28.8] | 0.02a | 0.002 | 0.12 | 0.21 |
| Smoking (current), n (%) | 8 (27) | 0 (0) | 11 (44) | 12 (34) | 0.06b | 0.73 | 0.29 | 0.85 |
| Symptom duration, month, median [Q1; Q3] | 233 [132; 384] | 192 [132; 336] | 78 [60; 120] | 90 [48; 152] | < 0.001a | 0.84 | < 0.001 | 0.79 |
| Peripheral joint involvement, n (%) | 17 (57) | 7 (70) | 12 (48) | 17 (49) | 0.62b | 0.73 | 0.29 | 0.85 |
| Medication | ||||||||
| NSAIDs daily use, n (%) | 12 (40) | 5 (50) | 13 (52) | 17 (49) | 0.82b | 0.79 | 0.94 | 0.55 |
| MTX use, n (%) | 2 (7) | 4 (40) | 3 (12) | 11 (31) | 0.02b | 0.09 | 0.61 | 0.40 |
| MTX dose (mg/week),median [Q1; Q3] | 0.0 [0.0; 10.0] | 0.0 [0.0; 20.0] | 0.0 [0.0; 0.0] | 0.0 [0.0; 10.0] | 0.005a | < 0.001 | 0.32 | 0.31 |
| Sulfasalazine use, n (%) | 1 (3) | 1 (10) | 1 (4) | 4 (11) | 0.48b | 0.33 | 0.90 | 0.98 |
| No. of previous bDMARD used, median [Q1; Q3] | 0.0 [0.0; 1.0] | 0.0 [0.0; 1.0] | 0.0 [0.0; 1.0] | 0.0 [0.0; 1.0] | 0.94a | 0.89 | 0.93 | 0.38 |
| Current bDMARD, n (%) | 15 (50) | 3 (30) | 12 (48) | 10 (29) | 0.25b | 0.13 | 0.93 | 0.99 |
| Glucocorticoid use, n (%) | 0 (0) | 1 (10) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.10b | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.21 |
| Glucocorticoid use (mg/day), median [Q1; Q3] | 0.0 [0.0; 0.0] | 0.0 [0.0; 0.0] | 0.0 [0.0; 0.0] | 0.0 [0.0; 0.0] | 0.03a | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) | ||||||||
| BASDAI (0–100), median [Q1; Q3] | 25 [13; 45] | 25 [16; 35] | 25 [10; 52] | 47 [21; 60] | 0.07a | 0.30 | 0.11 | 0.29 |
| BASFI (0–100), median [Q1; Q3] | 18 [7; 40] | 19.0 [3; 49] | 16 [7; 48] | 36 [16; 51] | 0.37a | 0.47 | 0.34 | 0.57 |
| SF-36: PCS (0–100), median [Q1; Q3]† | 43.3 [37.0; 52.0] | 51.3 [45.4; 54.5] | 43.8 [37.1; 50.4] | 43.4 [34.4; 46.7] | 0.22a | 0.83 | 0.29 | 0.10 |
| SF-36: MCS (0–100), median [Q1; Q3]† | 56.9 [50.1; 59.3] | 50.4 [38.7; 60.4] | 52.3 [39.1; 55.4] | 46.7 [42.4; 52.2] | 0.005a | 0.09 | 0.03 | 0.21 |
| VAS pain (0–100 mm), median [Q1; Q3] | 24 [12; 43] | 17 [12; 36] | 25 [13; 47] | 49 [20; 61] | 0.10a | 0.79 | 0.06 | 0.57 |
| VAS fatigue (0–100 mm), median [Q1; Q3] | 22 [12; 45] | 39 [16; 54] | 33 [12; 67] | 54 [20; 61] | 0.02a | 0.08 | 0.16 | 0.38 |
| VAS global (0–100 mm), median [Q1; Q3] | 26 [14; 45] | 19 [12; 57] | 20 [12; 57] | 53 [22; 69] | 0.25a | 0.39 | 0.30 | 0.41 |
| Clinical examination | ||||||||
| Tender point count (0–18), median [Q1; Q3] | 0 [0; 2] | 4 [0; 6] | 0 [0; 4] | 5 [2; 8] | < 0.001a | < 0.001 | 0.28 | 0.24 |
| Swollen joint count (0–44), median [Q1; Q3] | 0 [0; 0] | 0 [0; 0] | 0 [0; 0] | 0 [0; 0] | 0.67a | 0.89 | 0.32 | 0.23 |
| Tender joint count (0–44), median [Q1; Q3] | 0 [0; 2] | 2 [0; 4] | 0 [0; 2] | 2 [1; 4] | 0.02a | 0.07 | 0.67 | 0.74 |
| BASMI (0–100), median [Q1; Q3] | 20 [10; 40] | 10 [0; 30] | 10 [10; 20] | 10 [0; 20] | 0.006a | 0.12 | 0.02 | 0.30 |
| SPARCC, EI (0–16), median [Q1; Q3] | 0 [0; 2] | 0 [0; 2] | 1 [0; 2] | 1 [0; 1] | 0.05a | 0.33 | 0.09 | 0.33 |
| ASDAS-CRP, median [Q1; Q3] | 2.0 [1.3; 3.1] | 1.95 [1.3; 3.2] | 2.1 [1.5; 3.1] | 2.6 [1.4; 3.1] | 0.95a | 0.76 | 0.88 | 0.98 |
| VAS physician (0–100), median [Q1; Q3] | 11 [5; 21] | 11 [9; 16] | 10 [2.0; 17.0] | 5 [2; 13] | 0.63a | 0.24 | 0.42 | 0.57 |
| Extra-articular manifestations* | ||||||||
| Uveitis, n (%) | 12 (40) | 3 (30) | 3 (12) | 7 (20) | 0.09b | 0.42 | 0.51 | 0.33 |
| Inflammatory bowel disease, n (%) | 3 (10) | 0 (0) | 3 (12) | 6 (17) | 0.63b | 0.58 | 0.81 | 0.58 |
| Psoriasis, n (%) | 12 (40) | 2 (20) | 11 (44) | 14 (40) | 0.64b | 0.76 | 0.26 | 0.42 |
| Dactylitis, n (%) | 6 (20) | 3 (30) | 6 (24) | 11 (31) | 0.75b | 0.53 | 0.93 | 0.87 |
| Acilles enthesitis, n (%) | 13 (43) | 5 (50) | 3 (12) | 10 (29) | 0.03b | 0.14 | 0.21 | 0.43 |
| Nephrolithiasis, n (%) | 6 (20) | 0 (0) | 3 (12) | 4 (11) | 0.50b | 0.95 | 0.43 | 0.49 |
| Comorbidities | ||||||||
| Charlson Comorbidity Index, median [Q1; Q3] | 1 [0; 1] | 0 [0; 0] | 1 [0; 1] | 1 [0; 1] | 0.14a | 0.03 | 0.83 | 0.52 |
| Paraclinical assessment | ||||||||
| HLA-B27 positive, n (%) | 27 (90) | 9 (90) | 15 (60) | 19 (54) | 0.004b | 0.66 | 0.06 | 0.86 |
| CRP (mg/L), median [Q1; Q3] | 4.7 [1.1; 10.0] | 4.25 [1.1; 21] | 2.1 [0.9; 6.8] | 1.9 [0.6; 4.4] | 0.13a | 0.49 | 0.02 | 0.58 |
| P-calprotectin (ng/mL), median [Q1; Q3]†† | 219 [145; 350] | 144 [120; 405] | 237 [137; 375] | 195 [104; 288] | 0.48a | 0.14 | 0.66 | 0.77 |
| F-calprotectin (mg/kg), median [Q1; Q3]††† | 15 [10; 42] | 16 [14; 27] | 14 [7; 34] | 19 [11; 55] | 0.64a | 0.79 | 0.91 | 0.24 |
Data are presented as median, 25th percentile (Q1) and 75th percentile (Q3), and percentages
BMI body mass index, NSAIDs nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, MTX methotrexate, bDMARD biologic disease-modifying drugs, BASDAI Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index, BASFI Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index, VAS Visual Analog Scale, SF-36: MCS/PCS Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 Mental/Physical Component Summary, BASMI Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index, SPARCC Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada, EI Enthesitis Index, ASDAS-CRP Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score-C-reactive protein
aKruskal-Wallis H test
bFisher’s exact test
*Either patient history or current diagnosis, P/F-calprotectin, plasma/fecal calprotectin
†n = 98 (r-axSpA male n = 29, r-axSpA female n = 10, nr-axSpA male n = 25, nr-axSpA female n = 34)
††n = 96 (r-axSpA male n = 28, r-axSpA female n = 10, nr-axSpA male n = 24, nr-axSpA female n = 34)
†††n = 72 (r-axSpA male n = 21, r-axSpA female n = 9, nr-axSpA male n = 16, nr-axSpA female n = 26)