| Baseline characteristics | BMI <25 (n = 156) | BMI 25–<30 (n = 146) | BMI ⩾30 (n = 30) |
| Age (years) | 54.5 (17.1) | 58.3 (13.9) | 55.4 (13.5) |
| Female, No (%) | 116 (74) | 88 (60) | 20 (67) |
| CRP (mg/l) | 38.4 (44.3) | 35.0 (36.9) | 32.4 (33.1) |
| Swollen joints (n) | 7.4 (5.1) | 7.7 (5.6) | 6.3 (5.6) |
| VAS morning stiffness (0–100 mm) | 57.1 (29.9) | 57.8 (27.4) | 56.7 (28.7) |
| VAS patients’ global health (0–100 mm) | 53.2 (23.8) | 45.5 (23.2) | 51.8 (22.9 ) |
| Sharp–van der Heijde score (0–448) | 2.9 (6.8) | 3.8 (7.1) | 3.7 (5.1) |
| Anti-CCP+, No (%)* | 79 (51) | 78 (53) | 15 (50) |
| Smoking+, No (%) | 66 (42) | 66 (45) | 9 (30) |
Results are shown as mean (SD) unless stated otherwise.
*Data on anti-CCP antibodies was missing in 17, 16 and 3 patients, respectively, for the BMI categories <25, 25 to <30 and >30 kg/m2.
Gender was differently distributed between the patients with BMI <25 and 25 to <30 (p = 0.009). The other variables were not significantly different between the three BMI categories.
Anti-CCP, anti-cyclic citrullinated protein; CRP, C reactive protein; VAS, visual analogue scale.