The presence of HLA DR4 in 140 patients and shared epitopes (SE) in 57 patients with early RA and the course of RA
| HLA DR4 | p Value | SE | p Value | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not found (n=55) | Found (n=85) | No SE found (n=12) | Single SE found (n=25) | Double dose of SE found (n=20) | |||||
| At the onset | |||||||||
| age, year, mean (SD) | 49 (13) | 44 (14) | 0.029 | 53 (10) | 51 (17) | 41 (15) | 0.042 | ||
| disease duration, months, median (range) | 6 (2–24) | 8 (2–20) | NS | 6.5 (3–24) | 7 (2–18) | 7 (2–20) | NS | ||
| rheumatoid factor positivity, % | 58 | 66 | NS | 33 | 64 | 65 | NS | ||
| swollen joint count, median (range) | 6 (1–35) | 5 (1–30) | NS | 13 (1–34) | 8 (1–35) | 9.5 (1–20) | NS | ||
| tender joint count, median (range) | 16 (3–40) | 15 (2–36) | NS | 22.5 (8–37) | 17 (3–40) | 13.5 (4–30) | NS | ||
| Mallya score, median (range) | 2.6 (1.6–3.7) | 2.5 (1.3–3.6) | NS | 2.8 (1.7–3.5) | 2.7 (1.7–3.7) | 2.2 (1.5–3.0) | 0.047 | ||
| Larsen score, median (range) | 0 (0–27) | 2 (0–28) | NS | 0 (1–16) | 0 (0–28) | 0 (0–11) | NS | ||
| At the latest visit | |||||||||
| In remission, (%) | 31 | 32 | NS | 33 | 32 | 40 | NS | ||
| Larsen score, median (range) | 28 (0–180) | 39 (0–146) | NS | 59 (11–123) | 41 (0–180) | 47.5 (4–146) | NS | ||
| with nodules, (%) | 15 | 11 | NS | 17 | 12 | 15 | NS | ||
| SAARDs used, median (range) | 3 (1–7) | 3 (1–8) | NS | 4 (1–7) | 3 (1–8) | 4 (1–8) | NS | ||