Patient characteristics according to treatment modality
| Initial MTX monotherapy (months 0–3, n=316) | Add-on DMARD combination (months 3–12, n=55) | Add-on TNF inhibitor (months 3–12, n=84) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women (%) | 231 (73) | 45 (82) | 64 (76) |
| Disease duration, mean months (SD) | 6.2 (4.8) | 5.8 (3.0) | 6.2 (3.4) |
| Rheumatoid factor positive (%) | 213 (67) | 37 (67) | 53 (63) |
| Concurrent low-dose prednisolone (%) | 42 (13) | 6 (11) | 8 (10) |
| DAS28, mean (SD) | 5.7 (1.0) | 5.9 (1.0) | 6.0 (1.0) |
| DAS28 at 3 months, mean (SD) | 4.0 (1.4) | 4.7 (1.0) | 5.0 (1.0) |
| Erosions, n (%)* | 107 (38) | 22 (45) | 27 (36) |
| Median anti-CCP level, AU/mL (IQR)† | 811 (259–2147) | 874 (234–2556) | 743 (187–1883) |
| Median anti-CEP-1 level, U/mL (IQR)† | 50.7 (21.3–119.5) | 45.8 (20.8–113.7) | 46.0 (20.4–103.4) |
| Median anti-cVim level, U/mL (IQR)† | 22.7 (14.4–40.8) | 25.3 (11.2–31.6) | 20.4 (14.6–38.3) |
| Median anti-cFib level, U/mL (IQR)† | 32.6 (18.6–64.1) | 40.7 (18.2–64.1) | 23.3 (15.3–46.8) |
| Median number of ACPAs, median (range) | 2 (0–4) | 2 (0–4) | 1 (0–4) |
Baseline values are given unless otherwise indicated.
*Data available from 282, 49 and 75 patients, respectively.
†Among positive patients only.
ACPA, anticitrullinated protein antibody; CCP, cyclic citrullinated peptide; CEP-1, citrullinated α-enolase peptide-1; cFib, citrullinated fibrinogen peptide; cVim, citrullinated vimentin peptide; DAS28, 28-joint disease activity score; DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; MTX, methotrexate; TNF, tumour necrosis factor.