Table 3.
Comparison of clinical characteristics between RA patients with sarcopenia and those without by SARC-F.
| No Sarcopenia by SARC-F n = 282 |
Sarcopenia by SARC-F n = 38 |
p-Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, year | 59.6 ± 9.7 | 67.3 ± 8.7 | <0.001 |
| Male, n (%) | 20 (7.1) | 0 | NA |
| Height, cm | 157.4 ± 6.1 | 152.1 ± 6.8 | <0.001 |
| Weight, kg | 57.8 ± 10.1 | 57.8 ± 9.2 | 0.575 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 23.3 ± 3.7 | 24.9 ± 3.5 | 0.007 |
| Duration of RA, month | 104.7 ± 6.4 | 103.2 ± 69.8 | 0.867 |
| Erosion, n (%) | 66 (23.4) | 11 (28.9) | 0.454 |
| ESR mm/hr | 15.4 ± 15.2 | 18.1 ± 14.1 | 0.071 |
| CRP mg/dL | 0.8 ± 1.7 | 0.6 ± 1.4 | 0.348 |
| Visual analogue score | 26.0 ± 16.4 | 35.3 ± 21.3 | 0.015 |
| Tender joint count | 3.5 ± 3.5 | 7.0 ± 7.0 | 0.001 |
| Swollen joint count | 0.9 ± 1.8 | 2.9 ± 4.6 | <0.001 |
| DAS28 | 2.9 ± 1.1 | 3.8 ± 1.4 | <0.001 |
| Current dose of GC, mg | 1.2 ± 1.0 | 1.4 ± 1.3 | 0.011 |
| Cumulative dose of GC, g | 3.7 ± 4.2 | 2.8 ± 3.0 | 0.002 |
| MTX, n (%) | 167 (59.2) | 25 (65.8) | 0.438 |
| TNF inhibitor, n (%) | 20 (7.1) | 3 (7.9) | 0.858 |
| Synthetic DMARDs, n (%) | 96 (34) | 10 (26.3) | 0.343 |
| Osteoporosis, n (%) | 120 (42.6) | 21 (55.3) | 0.139 |
| Total mass index, kg/m2 | 27.5 ± 11.2 | 22.2 ± 9.9 | 0.005 |
| Fat free mass index, kg/m2 | 17.9 ± 5.8 | 19.7 ± 5.3 | 0.032 |
| aLM, kg/m2 | 7.3 ± 1.1 | 7.6 ± 1.3 | 0.036 |
| Walk speed, m/s | 0.84 ± 0.16 | 0.78 ± 0.16 | 0.035 |
| Mean grip strength, kg | 19.8 ± 5.6 | 15.4 ± 5.4 | <0.001 |
RA, rheumatoid arthritis; SARC-F, sluggishness, assistance in walking, rising from a chair, climb stairs, falls; BMI, body mass index; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS28, Disease Activity Score 28; GC, glucocorticoids; MTX, methotrexate; TNF, tumor necrosis factor; DMARDs, disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs; aLM, appendicular lean mass index. Values are mean ± standard deviation or n (%).