AS and cardiovascular- related factors and arterial wall properties at baseline and follow-up
| Discontinued TNF inhibitors at follow-up (n=9) | Continued TNF inhibitors at follow-up (n=56) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Follow-up | Change | Baseline | Follow-up | Change | |
| AS-related factors | ||||||
| NSAID use, % | 100 | 89 | −11 | 98 | 35 | −63* |
| BASDAI, range 0–10 | 6.7±1.2 | 5.6±1.8 | −1.1 | 6.1±1.3 | 3.3±2.3 | −2.8* |
| ESR, mm/h | 8 (3–28) | 9 (7–18) | +1 | 17 (6–32) | 5 (2–18) | −12* |
| CRP, mg/L | 3 (1–15) | 4 (3–10) | +1 | 8 (3–26) | 3 (1–6) | −5* |
| ASDAS | 3.23±0.87 | 2.87±0.89 | −0.36 | 3.62±0.70 | 2.04±0.99 | −1.6* |
| Cardiovascular risk factors | ||||||
| SBP, mm Hg | 123±22 | 117±22 | −6 | 125±15 | 122±14 | −3* |
| DBP, mm Hg | 68±12 | 76±12 | +8 | 72±10 | 80±8 | +8* |
| Pulse pressure, mm Hg | 54±12 | 41±15 | −13 | 54±9 | 41±10 | −13 |
| Mean arterial pressure, mm Hg | 88±16 | 90±14 | +2 | 90±12 | 94±9 | +4* |
| Current smoking, % | 56 | 56 | − | 35 | 30 | −5 |
| Total cholesterol, mmol/L | 4.93±1.18 | 5.35±2.33 | +0.42 | 5.12±0.96 | 5.47±1.21 | +0.35* |
| LDL-cholesterol, mmol/L | 2.96±0.58 | 3.41±1.53 | +0.45 | 3.07±0.82 | 3.29±1.18 | +0.22 |
| HDL-cholesterol, mmol/L | 1.26±0.38 | 1.25±0.28 | −0.01 | 1.45±0.77 | 1.45±0.42 | − |
| Total/HDL-cholesterol ratio | 4.09±1.02 | 4.18±0.92 | +0.09 | 3.89±1.09 | 4.17±1.85 | +0.28 |
| Body-mass index, kg/m2 | 29.3±9.5 | 28.5±7.0 | −0.8 | 26.1±4.2 | 27.8±4.2 | +1.7* |
| Carotid arterial properties | ||||||
| cIMT, mm | 0.626±0.077 | 0.683±0.117 | +0.057 | 0.655±0.107 | 0.667±0.176 | +0.011 |
| Diameter, mm | 6.8±1.2 | 7.0±1.1 | +0.2 | 7.4±1.0 | 7.2±1.1 | −0.2* |
| Distension, micrometer | 582±244 | 451±194 | −131* | 508±151 | 444±129 | −64* |
| DC, kPa | 11.1 (7.6–23.4) | 10.2 (4.7–21.3) | −0.9 | 9.6 (5.4–15.2) | 10.6 (6.8–16.5) | +1.0 |
| CC, mm2×kPa | 0.5 (0.3–0.6) | 0.5 (0.2–0.7) | −0.01 | 0.4 (0.3–0.6) | 0.4 (0.2–0.6) | – |
| YEM, kPa | 1.0 (0.5–1.7) | 1.2 (0.4–2.0) | +0.24 | 1.3 (0.7–2.1) | 1.0 (0.7–1.8) | −0.29 |
*p<0.05 for change in AS- and cardiovascular-factors and arterial properties stratified for patients who later discontinued TNF inhibitors and those that continued. Results presented as means±SD, percentages or median (IQR). At baseline, no significant differences were noted in AS-related or cardiovascular risk factors or carotid arterial properties.
AS, alkylosing spondylitis; ASDAS, AS disease activity score; BASDAI, Bath AS disease activity index; CC, compliance coefficient; cIMT, carotid intima-media thickness; CRP, C-reactive protein; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; DC, distensibility coefficient; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, Low-density lipoprotein; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; SBP, systolic blood pressure; TNF, tumour necrosis factor; YEM, Young's elastic modulus.