Table 2.
Participant characteristicsa
| Variable | RA patients (n = 203) | Blood donors (n = 293) | p valueb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 62 (53,70) | 45 (34, 54) | < 0.001 |
| 60 (13) | 44 (14) | ||
| Age tertile, n (%) | |||
| 1: ≤ 45 years | 28 (13.8%) | 149 (50.9%) | < 0.001 |
| 2: 46–60 years | 62 (30.5%) | 104 (35.5%) | |
| 3: > 60 years | 113 (55.7%) | 40 (13.6%) | |
| Women, n (%) | 138 (68.0%) | 159 (54.3%) | 0.002 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 26.0 (23.3, 28.9) | 25.8 (23.3, 28.9) | 0.90 |
| 26.5 (4.7) | 26.3 (3.9) | ||
| Ever smoker | 127 (62.6%) | 102 (34.8%) | < 0.001 |
| Duration of RA, years | 11 (5, 19) | – | |
| 13 (11) | |||
| Age at RA diagnosis, years | 47 (36, 58) | – | |
| 47 (15) | |||
| Seropositive (rheumatoid factor and/or anti-citrullinated peptide antibody positive), n (%) | 162 (79.8%) | – | |
| Comorbidity, n (%) | |||
| Hypertension | 59 (29.1%) | – | |
| Cardiovascular diseasec | 80 (39.4%) | ||
| Diabetes | 10 (4.9%) | ||
| Respiratory diseased | 35 (17.2%) | ||
| Cancer | 20 (9.9%) | ||
| Current medication, n (%) | |||
| Conventional DMARDs | 168 (82.8%) | – | |
| Biological DMARDs | 103 (50.7%) | ||
| Patient global assessment (mm) | 28 (13, 49) | – | |
| 32 (23) | |||
| Modified health assessment questionnaire | 0.25 (0, 0.63) | – | |
| Joint pain score (0–10; 0 = no pain, 10 = very intense pain) | 0.41 (0.43) | ||
| 2 (1, 5) | |||
| 3.2 (2.6) | |||
| HADS depression score | 3 (1, 5) | 1 (0, 3) | < 0.001 |
| 4 (3) | 2 (2) | ||
| HADS depression score ≥ 8, n (%) | 23 (11.6%) | 12 (4.1%) | 0.002 |
| Cohen’s perceived stress score | 14 (8, 18) | 10 (7, 14) | < 0.001 |
| 14 (6) | 10 (6) | ||
| Cohen’s perceived stress score tertile, n (%) | |||
| 1: 0–8 | 50 (25.6%) | 113 (38.6%) | < 0.001 |
| 2: 9–14 | 58 (28.6%) | 120 (41.0%) | |
| 3: 15–40 | 88 (43.7%) | 57 (19.5%) | |
| Facilitators score (possible range: 0, 28) | 21 (16, 24) | 21 (18, 24) | 0.31 |
| 19.7 (5.7) | 20.5 (4.4) | ||
| Barriers score (possible range: 0, 28) | 8 (5, 11) | 5 (3, 8) | < 0.001 |
| 8.5 (4.2) | 5.9 (3.7) | ||
| Total Facilitators-Barriers score (possible range: − 28, 28) | 12 (5, 17) | 16 (10, 19) | < 0.001 |
| 11.2 (7.6) | 14.7 (6.3) | ||
| Fulfills ACC/AHH recommendations for physical activity | 57 (28.1%) | 102 (34.8%) | 0.11 |
ACC/AHA American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association, DMARD disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug, HADS Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, RA rheumatoid arthritis
aContinuous variables: upper line gives median (25th and 75th percentile), lower line (italics) gives mean (SD). Categorical variables: number (%). Missing data: RA patients: smoking n = 2, Cohen’s perceived stress score n = 7; controls: smoking n = 2, Cohen’s perceived stress score n = 3
bMann-Whitney U test or X2 test
cchronic obstructive or chronic restrictive pulmonary disease
dangina, myocardial infarction, arrythmia, stroke