Table 1.

Baseline characteristics of the subjects

	Patients (n = 600)	Controls (n = 800)	P
Age (years)	43.4 ± 12.9	42.6 ± 13.4	0.26
Gender (male/female)	192:408	281: 519	0.22
BMI (kg/m2)	24.1 ± 5.6	24.4 ± 4.9	0.29
DAS28	3.5 ± 1.6	N/A	N/A
ESR (mm/h)	21.1 ± 11.9	N/A	N/A
RF (IU/ml)	84.8 ± 7.8	N/A	N/A
CRP (mg/L)	44.3 ± 19.7	N/A	N/A