Baseline characteristics of patients with AS completing the study
| The Netherlands (n=130) | France (n=53) | Belgium (n=26) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BASFI, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index; BASDAI, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index. | |||
| *Difference between The Netherlands and France: p<0.05; †difference between The Netherlands and Belgium: p<0.05; ‡difference between France and Belgium: p<0.05. χ2 was used to test differences in proportions and one way analysis of variance for parametric variables. | |||
| Male (%) | 70 | 69 | 74 |
| Age* (years), mean (SD) | 46 (12) | 38 (12) | 42 (14) |
| Range | 23–77 | 19–67 | 18–74 |
| Formal education ≤12 years (%)*† | 83 | 48 | 64 |
| Manual profession (%)* | 44 | 23 | 45 |
| Disease duration (diagnosis), mean (SD) | 12 (9) | 9 (7) | 11 (10) |
| Inflammatory bowel disease (%)* | 10 | 0 | 8 |
| Peripheral arthritis (%)†‡ | 28 | 26 | 8 |
| BASFI, mean (SD)*† | 3.9 (2.4) | 2.5 (2.9) | 2.6 (2.3) |
| BASDAI, mean (SD)* | 3.7 (2.1) | 2.8 (2.3) | 3.1 (1.9) |
| EuroQol 5 dimensions, mean (SD) | 0.69 (0.16) | 0.63 (0.29) | 0.67 (0.14) |