Clinical, demographic, biochemical and other characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis
| At baseline | After 5 years | |||
| Usual care (n=158) | Treat-to-target (n=162) | Usual care (n=103) | Treat-to-target (n=116) | |
| Clinical or demographic | ||||
| Age, years | 51.8 (11.5) | 53.2 (10.9) | 59.0 (10.5)* | 59.9 (10.1)* |
| Female | 98 (62.0) | 125 (77.2)† | 60 (59.0) | 83 (71.6)† |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 26.5 (4.7) | 26.4 (4.5) | 26.7 (4.7) | 27.4 (5.6) |
| Waist circumference, cm | 93.7 (13.8) | 93.5 (12.6) | 96.4 (11.6) | 95.9 (12.5) |
| Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 130.8 (18.2) | 131.1 (18.5) | 124.6 (15.8)* | 124.7 (14.7)* |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 79.1 (10.5) | 78.4 (9.9) | 79.5 (9.2) | 77.6 (8.5) |
| Current smoker | 32 (20.4) | 28 (17.5) | 14 (13.6) | 11 (10.3) |
| Biochemical | ||||
| Total cholesterol, mmol/L | 5.4 (1.0) | 5.4 (1.1) | 5.2 (1.0) | 4.5 (1.0)*† |
| HDL-cholesterol, mmol/L | 1.5 (0.4) | 1.5 (0.4) | 1.5 (0.3) | 1.5 (0.4) |
| LDL-cholesterol, mmol/L | 3.4 (0.9) | 3.3 (0.9) | 3.1 (0.9) | 2.5 (0.8), |
| Triglycerides, mmol/L | 1.08 (0.66–1.69) | 0.97 (0.59–1.35) | 1.27 (0.87–1.66)* | 1.07 (0.66–1.47) |
| Apolipoprotein AI, g/L | 1.69 (0.37) | 1.70 (0.37) | 1.66 (0.28) | 1.66 (0.33) |
| Apolipoprotein B, g/L | 1.00 (0.26) | 1.00 (0.25) | 0.98 (0.28) | 0.81 (0.28)*† |
| Haemoglobin A1c, mmol/mol | 35.3 (4.2) | 35.0 (4.4) | 37.0 (4.6) | 37.6 (5.5) |
| Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mm/hour | 12.0 (4.5–19.5) | 9.0 (3.0–14.0) | 14.0 (4.0–24.0) | 12.0 (4.0–20.0) |
| C reactive protein, mg/L | 2.0 (0.0–5.5) | 3.0 (2.5–5.5) | 2.0 (1.5–3.5) | 2.0 (0.0–4.0) |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | ||||
| Disease duration, years | 8.7 (8.0) | 10.2 (9.7) | 14.5 (8.0)* | 14.9 (9.5)* |
| DAS28 | 2.40 (1.55–3.25) | 2.40 (1.60–3.20) | 2.40 (1.70–3.10) | 2.60 (1.90–3.30) |
| Low disease activity | 120 (75.4) | 129 (79.6) | 86 (81.1) | 93 (80.2) |
| DAS28-based remission | 87 (55.1) | 94 (58.0) | 60 (58.3) | 66 (56.9) |
| Boolean remission | 39 (24.7) | 32 (19.8) | 25 (24.3) | 27 (23.3) |
| Anti-CCP-positive | 103 (65.2) | 108 (66.7) | NA | NA |
| Rheumatoid factor-positive | 104 (65.8) | 97 (59.8) | NA | NA |
| Erosive disease | 64 (40.5) | 80 (50.6) | NA | NA |
| Subclinical atherosclerosis | ||||
| Carotid intima media thickness, mm | 0.569 (0.1113) | 0.570 (0.108) | 0.628 (0.134)* | 0.602 (0.108)* |
| Presence of plaques | 20 (12.7) | 21 (13.0) | 18 (17.4) | 18 (16.4) |
Data presented as mean (SD), median (IQR) or number (percentage).
*Significantly different from the corresponding value at baseline (p<0.05).
†Significantly different from the corresponding value in the usual care group (p<0.05).
CCP, cyclic citrullinated peptide; DAS28, Disease Activity Score with 28 joints counted and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; NA, not available.