Baseline characteristics
| p Value controls* | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controls | RA–GCs | RA+GCs | Vs RA–GCs | Vs RA+GCs | |
| N | 50 | 82 | 58 | – | |
| Age (years) | 56±8 | 57±12 | 59±12 | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Female (%) | 38 | 71 | 71 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 29±4 | 25±4 | 26±6 | <0.001 | 0.008 |
| Waist circumference male (cm) | 104±10 | 95±8 | 94±10 | 0.002 | 0.005 |
| Waist circumference female (cm) | 100±12 | 82±11 | 91±16 | <0.001 | 0.03 |
| Increased waist† (%) | 62 | 24 | 35 | <0.001 | 0.003 |
| SBP (mm Hg) | 125±10 | 124±18 | 125±17 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| DBP (mm Hg) | 80±7 | 73±10 | 73±10 | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Hypertension† (%) | 10 | 23 | 26 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
| Antihypertensive drugs (%) | – | 24 | 29 | – | – |
| FPG (mmol/l) | 5.4±0.5 | 5.5±0.7 | 5.3±0.7 | 0.6 | 1.0 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/l) | 1.2±0.4 | 1.0±0.5 | 1.2±0.7 | 0.2 | 1.0 |
| LDL (mmol/l) | 3.3±0.9 | 3.4±0.9 | 3.4±1 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| HDL male (mmol/l) | 1.4±0.3 | 1.1±0.3 | 1.4±0.4 | 0.02 | 1.0 |
| HDL female (mmol/l) | 1.6±0.5 | 1.5±0.4 | 1.6±0.4 | 0.4 | 1.0 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/l) | 5.3±0.9 | 5.2±1.0 | 5.4±1.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Dyslipidaemia‡ (%) | 50 | 82 | 62 | <0.001 | 0.3 |
| Hypercholesterolaemia‡ (%) | 78 | 76 | 76 | 0.6 | 0.7 |
| Statin use (%) | – | 12 | 7 | – | – |
| RA-characteristics | p Value | ||||
| Duration of RA (years) | 13±8 | 13±8 | 0.6 | ||
| Diabetes§ (%) | 9 | 14 | 0.3 | ||
| IGM§ (%) | 37 | 33 | 0.6 | ||
| Current DMARD use | |||||
| Synthetic (%/n) | 89/1.2 | 78/1.2 | 0.07 | ||
| Biological (%) | 21 | 55 | <0.001 | ||
| Historic DMARD use | |||||
| Synthetic (%/n) | 71/1.9 | 71/2.8 | 1.0 | ||
| Biological (%/n) | 7/1.3 | 24/1.9 | 0.005 | ||
| DAS28 (no dimension) | 2.8±1.3 | 3.5±1.2 | 0.002 | ||
| Tender joint count | 0 (0–3) | 2 (0–5) | 0.004 | ||
| Swollen joint count | 0 (0–1) | 1 (0–2) | 0.09 | ||
| General well-being (VAS 0 (good) to 100) | 26±21 | 38±25 | 0.002 | ||
| ESR (mm/h) | 11 (8–21) | 14 (9–28) | 0.1 | ||
| Anti-CCP positive (%) | 71 | 71 | 0.9 | ||
| Any erosive damage at x-ray of hands or feet (%) | 72 | 81 | 0.2 (only hand erosions p=0.06) | ||
| Cumulative dose GCs (g. prednisone equivalent) | 0 | 13 (7–27) | – | ||
| Daily dose (mg) | 0 | 6.3 (5–10) | – | ||
| Dexamethasone pulse (% ever used pulse/mean n pulses) | 0 | 19/2 | – | ||
Data represent means±SD or median (IQR) when data were not normally distributed. Intergroup differences in continuous outcomes were tested by ANOVA, and with both the Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests in cases of non-normal distribution. Differences between groups in dichotomous outcomes were tested with the χ2 test. Post hoc Bonferroni correction was applied in cases of multiple testing (p value ×2).
↵* p Value controls is the intergroup difference tested by ANOVA, Mann–Whitney or χ2 test with the Bonferroni post hoc test. p Values of the RA−GC RA+GC difference were not depicted; the only significant/trend differences were male HDL p=0.07; dyslipidaemia p=0.009.
↵† Increased waist circumference was defined as >102 cm in men and >88 cm in women. Hypertension was defined as ≥140 mm Hg systolic or 90 mm Hg diastolic pressure.
↵‡ Dyslipidaemia was defined as triglycerides >1.7 mmol/l and/or HDL-cholesterol < 0.9 mmol/l (male) and <1 mmol/l (female). Hypercholesterolaemia was defined as total cholesterol >5 mmol/l and/or LDL-cholesterol >3 mmol/l.
↵§ Diabetes was defined as either FPG≥7.1, or ≥11 at 120 min of OGTT; IGM was defined as either FPG (<7.1 and >6.1), or impaired glucose tolerance (<11 and >7.8 at 120 min of OGTT).
ANOVA, analysis of variance; BMI, body mass index; CCP, cyclic citrullinated peptide; DAS28, Disease Activation Score using 28 joints; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; FPG, fasting plasma glucose; GC, glucocorticoid; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; IGM, impaired glucose metabolism; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; RA+GCs, patients with rheumatoid arthritis, currently using glucocorticoids; RA−GCs, patients with rheumatoid arthritis, glucocorticoid- naive; SBP, systolic blood pressure; VAS, Visual Analogue Scale.