Characteristics of patients in the cross-sectional and longitudinal studies
| Cross-sectional NinJa 2003 | Longitudinal NinJa 2002–2003 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2003 | ||
| CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS28, Disease Activity Score 28; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; VAS, visual analogue scale. | |||
| *Age and disease duration at the time of data collection in 2003. | |||
| †The mean value of DAS28-ESR was significantly larger than that of DAS28-CRP (p < 0.0001). | |||
| Patients (n) | 3073 | 1482 | |
| Age (years; mean [SD]) | 61.1 [11.4] | 61.7* [10.6] | |
| Women (%) | 2583 (84.1%) | 1270 (85.7%) | |
| Disease duration (years; mean [SD]) | 13.5 [10.6] | 15.7* [10.7] | |
| Disease activity score (mean [SD]) | |||
| DAS28-ESR | 4.31† [1.32] | 4.29† [1.22] | 4.24† [1.30] |
| DAS28-CRP | 3.59 [1.25] | 3.61[1.20] | 3.51 [1.23] |
| Disease activity characteristics (median [first; third quartile]) | |||
| Tender joint count (0–28) | 2 [0; 4] | 2 [1; 5] | 2 [1; 5] |
| Swollen joint count (0–28) | 1 [0; 4] | 2 [0; 5] | 1 [0; 4] |
| ESR (mm/h; normal <20) | 39 [21; 60] | 38 [20; 58] | 40 [22; 60] |
| CRP (mg/dl; normal <0.4) | 0.78 [0.23;2.09] | 0.82 [0.27; 2.30] | 0.72 [0.22; 1.98] |
| mHAQ score (range 0–3) | 0.50 [0.10; 1.10] | 0.50 [0.12; 1.00] | 0.60 [0.12; 1.25] |
| Patient’s pain VAS (10 cm) | 3.7 [1.9; 5.5] | 3.4 [3.4; 5.4] | 3.8 [2.0; 5.8] |
| Patient’s global VAS (10 cm) | 4.0 [2.0; 5.6] | 3.8 [2.0; 5.8] | 4.1 [2.1; 5.7] |
| Doctor’s global VAS (10 cm) | 2.9 [1.6; 4.7] | 3.1 [2.0; 4.9] | 3.1 [1.9; 4.9] |