Table 1.
Patient characteristics at the time of first starting MTX use for RA (n = 289)
| Characteristic | Entire cohort |
|---|---|
| Age, years, mean (95% CI) | 60.4 (59.0, 61.7) |
| Male/female, n | 70/219 |
| MTX weekly dose, mg, median (95% CI) | 8.4 (8.2, 8.6) |
| RA duration, months, mean (95% CI) | 23.2 (15.7, 30.7) |
| <2 years (early RA), n (%) | 231 (79.9) |
| Anti-CCP positive, n (%) | 263 (91.0) |
| RF positive, n (%) | 238 (82.4) |
| Steinbrocker’s stages III/IV, n (%) | 52 (18.0) |
| CRP, mg/dl, mean (95% CI) | 1.71 (1.42, 2.00) |
| ≥1.5 mg/dla, n (%) | 95 (32.9) |
| ESR, mm/h, mean (95% CI) | 37.7 (34.6, 40.9) |
| ≥28 mm/ha, n (%) | 169 (58.5) |
| L/S ratio on high-resolution CT, mean (95% CI) | 1.29 (1.27, 1.30) |
| ≥1.3 (no fat deposition), n (%) | 149 (51.6) |
| ≥1.1 and <1.3 (mild fat liver), n (%) | 123 (42.6) |
| <1.1 (moderate to severe fat liver), n (%) | 17 (5.9) |
| BMI, kg/m2, mean (95% CI) | 22.6 (22.2, 23.1) |
| ≥25 (obesity), n (%) | 64 (22.1) |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 88 (30.4) |
| Type 2 diabetes, n (%) | 18 (6.2) |
| Chronic kidney disease, n (%) | 41 (14.2) |
| Current/ex-smokersb, n (%) | 96 (33.2) |
| Concurrent use of other RA medications | |
| NSAIDs, n (%) | 93 (32.2) |
| Prednisolone, n (%) | 81 (28.0) |
| bDMARDs, n (%) | 12 (4.2) |
| csDMARDc, n (%) | 5 (1.7) |
| tsDMARDc, n (%) | 0 |
Data were obtained at the time of enrolment in the MET-START registry.
a
Cut-off values were set based on the inclusion criteria often used for clinical trials of new DMARDs.
b
Defined as current or former smokers with a smoking history ≥10 pack-years.
c
Tacrolimus was used as a csDMARD, and no tsDMARD was used concurrently with MTX. bDMARDs: biological DMARDs; csDMARD: conventional systemic DMARD; L/S ratio: liver-to-spleen attenuation ratio; tsDMARD: targeted synthetic DMARD.