Table 1. Baseline characteristics of patients with RA.

Characteristic	Development cohort (n=156)	Validation cohort (n=67)	P value
Age, mean ± SD, years	48.22±11.44	47.27±10.98	0.60
Sex(male/female)	20/136	11/56	–
Disease duration, median (IQR), months	12 (6–36)	12 (3–36)	0.77
ACPA+, rate (%)	75.20	78.20	0.66
ESR, mean ± SD, mm/h	48.45±29.71	52.11±32.31	0.46
CRP, mean ± SD, mg/L	14.69±20.38	17.25±18.38	0.42
TNF-α, median (IQR), pg/mL	3.36 (2.99–5.66)	3.30 (2.94–4.80)	0.49
VEGF, median (IQR), pg/mL	91.15 (41.53–317.58)	80.66 (40.08–208.66)	0.72
IL-6, median (IQR), pg/mL	4.71 (2.54–14.79)	10.35 (2.85–16.67)	0.31
Gal-9, median (IQR), pg/mL	5,240.00 (3,180.00–8,640.00)	5,000 (3,240.00–9,440.00)	0.40
T28, mean ± SD	8.33±4.17	9.15±5.6	0.27
SW28, mean ± SD	5.42±4.02	6.00±5.63	0.43
PGA, mean ± SD	2.72±0.94	2.91±1.13	0.24
PHGA, mean ± SD	2.92±0.79	3.05±0.89	0.32
HAQ, mean ± SD	0.43±0.37	0.43±0.27	0.98
DAS28-ESR, mean ± SD	4.72±0.83	4.85±0.9	0.24
DAS28-CRP, mean ± SD	3.87±0.78	4.06±0.95	0.32
GC combination rate (%)	41.09	32.73	0.29
MTX combination rate (%)	60.47	70.91	0.18
HCQ combination rate (%)	70.54	81.82	0.11
T-614 combination rate (%)	60.50	61.80	0.86
FK506 combination rate (%)	39.50	38.20	0.86

RA, rheumatoid arthritis; SD, standard deviation; IQR, interquartile range; ACPA, anticitrullinated protein antibody; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP, C-reactive protein; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor; IL-6, interleukin-6; Gal-9, galectin-9; T28, tenderness joint 28 count; SW28, swelling joint 28 count; PGA, patient global assessment; PHGA, physician global assessment; HAQ, health assessment questionnaire; DAS28-ESR, disease activity score-28 for rheumatoid arthritis with erythrocyte sedimentation rate; DAS28-CRP, disease activity score in 28 joints using C-reactive protein; GC, glucocorticoid; MTX, methotrexate; HCQ, hydroxychloroquine; T-614, iguratimod; FK506, tacrolimus.