Baseline characteristic for all patients with early rheumatoid arthritis and comparison between MTX and MTX+IAST groups
| All (n=40) | MTX group (n=19) | MTX+IAST group (n=21) | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | ||||
| Age (years) | 54.2 (15.4) | 55.2 (15.5) | 53.3 (15.7) | 0.71 |
| Females | 22 (55.0) | 9 (47.4) | 13 (61.9) | 0.36 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 26.3 (4.2) | 26.0 (3.0) | 26.6 (5.1) | 0.64 |
| Current smoking | 17 (42.5) | 7 (36.8) | 10 (47.6) | 0.49 |
| Disease variables | ||||
| Disease duration (months) | 5.5 (2–11) | 6 (2–11) | 5 (2–11) | 0.48 |
| Rheumatoid factor | 18 (45.0) | 13 (68.4) | 5 (23.8) | 0.01 |
| C reactive protein (mg/l) | 15 (5–134) | 24 (5–134) | 14 (5–94) | 0.09 |
| Swollen joint count (0–56) | 12.1 (6.7) | 12.1 (7.0) | 12.2 (6.6) | 0.95 |
| Swollen joint count dominant hand MCP2–5 (0–4) | 2.4 (0.9) | 2.2 (0.9) | 2.5 (0.8) | 0.26 |
| Health Assessment Questionnaire (range 0–3) | 1.28 (0.75) | 1.29 (0.86) | 1.28 (0.66) | 0.97 |
| Bone mineral density (g/cm2) | ||||
| Dominant hand | 0.436 (0.070) | 0.428 (0.061) | 0.442 (0.078) | 0.52 |
| Mean distal metacarpal phalange MCP 2–5 | 0.374 (0.066) | 0.370 (0.064) | 0.378 (0.070) | 0.73 |
| Mean whole proximal phalange digit 2–5 | 0.386 (0.059) | 0.377 (0.050) | 0.393 (0.066) | 0.40 |
| Mean proximal phalange digit 2–5 | 0.347 (0.055) | 0.341 (0.048) | 0.353 (0.061) | 0.53 |
| Proximal phalange digit 2 | 0.375 (0.055) | 0.366 (0.051) | 0.383 (0.058) | 0.33 |
| Proximal phalange digit 3 | 0.395 (0.066) | 0.385 (0.058) | 0.403 (0.072) | 0.39 |
| Proximal phalange digit 4 | 0.377 (0.053) | 0.334 (0.046) | 0.340 (0.060) | 0.74 |
| Proximal phalange digit 5 | 0.283 (0.053) | 0.281 (0.047) | 0.284 (0.060) | 0.84 |
| Mean both hands | 0.426 (0.070) | 0.416 (0.060) | 0.435 (0.078) | 0.39 |
| Spine L2–4 | 1.200 (0.169) | 1.163 (0.175) | 1.236 (0.160) | 0.19 |
| Mean both femoral necks | 0.985 (0.133) | 0.950 (0.123) | 1.019 (0.136) | 0.14 |
| MRI at MCP 2–5 | ||||
| RAMRIS score (0–12) | 6.8 (2.3) | 6.6 (2.4) | 6.9 (2.2) | 0.66 |
| Number of bone marrow oedema lesions | 0 (0–4) | 0 (0–2) | 0 (0–4) | 0.81 |
IAST, intra-articular corticosteroid; MCP, metacarpophalangeal joints; MTX, methotrexate; RAMRIS, Rheumatoid Arthritis MRI scoring system.
Categorical data presented as numbers (%) and continuous data presented as mean (SD) if normally distributed and as median (range) if not normally distributed.