Table 1.
Basic sociodemographic and disease-specific data
| Basic data | Men‖, N = 79 (%) | Women‖, N = 250 (%) | Total, N = 329 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean [SD] | 58.0 [8.61] | 57.0 [10.10] | 57.2 [9.76] |
| 25–44 | 5 (6.3) | 31 (12.4) | 36 (10.9) |
| 45–64 | 50 (63.3) | 162 (64.8) | 212 (64.4) |
| 65–73 | 24 (30.4) | 57 (22.8) | 81 (24.6) |
| Sexual orientation | |||
| Heterosexual | 73 (92.4) | 206 (82.4) | 279 (84.8) |
| Homosexual | 0 (0.0) | 2 (0.8) | 2 (0.6) |
| Bisexual | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Asexual | 0 (0.0) | 2 (0.8) | 2 (0.6) |
| Don't know | 3 (3.8) | 15 (6.0) | 18 (5.5) |
| None of the above/missing | 3 (3.8) | 25 (10.0) | 28 (8.5) |
| Education† | |||
| Secondary education | 19 (24.1) | 49 (19.6) | 68 (20.7) |
| Youth education or postcompulsory education | 2 (2.5) | 6 (2.4) | 8 (2.4) |
| Low or intermediate further education | 51 (64.6) | 160 (64.0) | 211 (64.1) |
| High further education | 5 (6.3) | 25 (10.0) | 30 (9.1) |
| Never completed any education | 2 (2.5) | 9 (3.6) | 11 (3.3) |
| Don't know | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.4) | 1 (0.3) |
| Relationship status | |||
| Single | 13 (16.5) | 72 (28.8) | 85 (25.8) |
| In a relationship | 66 (83.5) | 178 (71.2) | 244 (74.2) |
| Cohabitation status | |||
| Living alone | 15 (19.0) | 64 (25.6) | 79 (24.0) |
| Living together with partner and/or children | 64 (81.0) | 186 (74.4) | 250 (76.0) |
| BMI‡ (n = 326) | |||
| BMI, mean [SD] | 27.28 [3.8] | 26.92 [6.2] | 27.01 [5.7] |
| <18.5 | 0 (0.0) | 9 (3.6) | 9 (2.8) |
| 18.5–24.9 | 23 (29.1) | 95 (38.5) | 118 (36.2) |
| 25–29.9 | 41 (51.9) | 77 (31.2) | 118 (36.2) |
| 30–39.9 | 15 (19.0) | 58 (23.5) | 73 (22.4) |
| ≥40 | 0 (0.0) | 8 (3.2) | 8 (2.5) |
| Smoking | |||
| No daily smoking | 62 (78.5) | 205 (82.0) | 267 (81.2) |
| Daily smoking | 17 (21.5) | 45 (18.0) | 62 (18.8) |
| Alcohol consumption (recent week) | |||
| 0 units | 33 (41.8) | 158 (63.2) | 191 (58.1) |
| 1–7 (females)/1–14 (males) | 37 (46.8) | 68 (27.2) | 105 (31.9) |
| 7+ (females)/14+ (males) | 9 (11.4) | 18 (7.2) | 27 (8.2) |
| Missing | 0 (0.0) | 6 (2.4) | 6 (1.8) |
| Comorbidity (Charlson's Comorbidity Index) (self-reported) (n = 329) | |||
| 0–1 | 74 (93.7) | 237 (94.8) | 311 (94.5) |
| 2+ | 5 (6.3) | 13 (5.2) | 18 (5.5) |
| Anti-CCP/ACPA (n = 329) | |||
| Negative∗ | 15 (19.0) | 50 (20.0) | 65 (19.8) |
| Positive | 47 (59.5) | 128 (51.2) | 175 (53.2) |
| Missing data | 17 (21.5) | 72 (28.8) | 89 (27.1) |
| IgM-RF (n = 329) | |||
| Negative∗ | 11 (13.9) | 42 (16.8) | 53 (16.1) |
| Positive | 56 (70.9) | 149 (59.6) | 205 (62.3) |
| Missing data | 12 (15.2) | 59 (23.6) | 71 (21.6) |
| Biologic treatment (n = 329) | |||
| Previously treated | 8 (10.1) | 21 (8.4) | 29 (8.8) |
| Presently treated | 22 (27.8) | 74 (29.6) | 96 (29.2) |
| Never treated/unknown/missing§ | 49 (62.0) | 155 (62.0) | 204 (62.0) |
| Methotrexate (n = 329) | |||
| Previously treated | 18 (22.8) | 65 (26.0) | 83 (25.2) |
| Presently treated | 57 (72.2) | 167 (66.8) | 224 (68.1) |
| Never treated/unknown/missing§ | 4 (3.1) | 18 (7.4) | 22 (6.7) |
| Disease duration, years, mean [SD] | 11.84 [7.95] | 14.42 [10.19] | 13.80 [9.75] |
| Physical function (HAQ score) (n = 326) | |||
| HAQ mean [SD] | 0.48 [0.58] | 0.94 [0.74] | 0.83 [0.73] |
| 0–1 (mild to moderate disability) | 63 (80.8) | 134 (54.0) | 197 (60.4) |
| 1–2 (moderate to severe disability) | 13 (16.7) | 87 (35.1) | 100 (30.7) |
| 2–3 (severe to very severe disability) | 2 (2.6) | 27 (10.9) | 29 (8.9) |
| RA-related pain (VAS), mean [SD] (n = 326) | 32.55 [21.40] | 39.90 [24.17] | 38.14 [23.72] |
| RA-related fatigue (VAS), mean [SD] (n = 326) | 41.49 [24.85] | 50.92 [26.25] | 48.66 [26.20] |
| Depression (BDI score) (n = 319) | |||
| BDI mean [SD] | 6.55 [5.36] | 9.71 [8.18] | 8.95 [7.71] |
| ≤13 (minimal or no depression) | 65 (84.4) | 180 (74.4) | 245 (76.8) |
| 14–19 (light depression) | 10 (13.0) | 31 (12.8) | 41 (12.9) |
| 20–28 (moderate depression) | 2 (2.6) | 23 (9.5) | 25 (7.8) |
| ≥29 (severe depression) | 0 (0.0) | 8 (3.3) | 8 (2.5) |
| Loneliness (UCLA Loneliness score) (n = 319) | |||
| UCLA mean [SD] | 34.34 [12.12] | 36.44 [12.86] | 35.94 [12.70] |
| 20–34 (low) | 37 (48.1) | 110 (45.5) | 147 (46.1) |
| 35–49 (moderate) | 32 (41.6) | 90 (37.2) | 122 (38.2) |
| 50–64 (moderately high) | 8 (10.4) | 39 (16.1) | 47 (14.7) |
| 65–80 (high) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (1.2) | 3 (0.9) |
Abbreviations: ACPA = anti-citrullinated protein antibodies; BDI = Beck Depression Inventory; BMI = body mass index; CCP = cyclic citrullinated peptide; HAQ = Health Assessment Questionnaire; IgM-RF = immunoglobulin M rheumatoid factor; RA = rheumatoid arthritis; UCLA = University of California Los Angeles; VAS = Visual Analog Scale.
Negative Anti-CCP and negative IgM-RF = as defined by local laboratory cutoffs.
Level of education: Secondary education (7–10 years education), youth education or postcompulsory education (10–12 years education), low further education/intermediate further education (13–15 years education), high further education (15–17 years of education), never completed any education (0–6 years education).
BMI < 18.5 underweight; 18.5–24.9 normal weight; 25–29.9 overweight; >30–39.9 severe overweight; BMI > 40 extreme overweight.
Categories never treated/unknown/missing merged due to small numbers
Identification as transgender or nonbinary gender was not addressed in the questionnaire.