Table 3.
Comparison of clinical characteristics between RA patients with and without cachexia in the univariable analysis.
| RA+cachexia n = 30 |
RA+noncachectic n = 131 |
p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, median (range) | 56 (42-80) | 59 (18-89) | 0.75 |
| Menopause, n (%) | 28 (93) | 104 (80) | 0.07 |
| Sedentary, n (%) | 20 (67) | 85 (65) | 0.85 |
| BMI (kg/m2), median (range) | 26.6 (23.1-29.4) | 25.8 (16.5-39.5) | 0.59 |
| Disease duration, median (range) | 13 (1-35) | 10 (1-40) | 0.75 |
| Deteriorated functional class (II-IV), n (%) | 23 (77) | 91 (70) | 0.43 |
| DAS 28, median (range) | 3.13 (1.27-5.05) | 2.93 (0.91-7.19) | 0.29 |
| DAS28-ESR ≥ 3.2 | 14 (47) | 46 (35) | 0.24 |
| SMI (kg/m2), median (range) | 5.15 (4.29-6.03) | 5.65 (2.69-9.53) | 0.001 |
| Low muscle mass, SMI < 5.5 kg/m2, n (%) | 24 (80) | 62 (47) | 0.001 |
| Myostatin (ng/mL), median (range) | 17.59 (1.4-67.3) | 11.4 (1.2-140) | 0.52 |
| High myostatin levels (≥17 ng/mL) | 16 (53) | 38 (29) | 0.01 |
DAS28-ESR: Disease Activity Score (28 joints), Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate. DAS28-ESR ≥ 3.2 indicates moderate or severe disease activity in RA patients. SMI: Skeletal Muscle Index. Quantitative variables expressed in medians and ranges and compared by Mann–Whitney U tests; qualitative variables expressed in frequency and % and compared by chi-square tests.