Baseline characteristics of 147 patients*
| Characteristics | Value |
|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD) | 49 (12) |
| Female sex | 113 (77) |
| Arthralgia duration (months), median (IQR)† | 12 (7–36) |
| Reported painful joints (n), median (IQR) | 8 (2–12) |
| Morning stiffness for more than 1 h | 17 (12) |
| Pain on a 100 mm VAS, median (IQR) | 30 (5–53) |
| Inflammatory-type arthralgia | 60 (41) |
| Inflammatory-type arthralgia and morning stiffness for .1 h | 10 (7) |
| Symmetric distribution tender joints | 96 (65) |
| Tender joints at physical examination (n), median (IQR) | 0 (0–1) |
| Acute phase reactant | |
| CRP (mg/l), median (IQR) | 2.5 (0.9–4.9) |
| Autoantibody status | |
| IgM-RF or ACPA positive | 147 (100) |
| IgM-RF positive, ACPA negative | 52 (35) |
| ACPA positive, IgM-RF negative | 50 (34) |
| IgM-RF and ACPA positive | 45 (31) |
| Autoantibody levels | |
| ACPA (AU/ml), median (IQR)‡ | 45 (12–156) |
| IgM-RF (IU/ml), median (IQR)‡ | 61 (40–116) |