Clinical characteristics, cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and CV risk scores of 112 biological-naïve RA patients at baseline and after 3 and 6 months of follow-up
| Variables | Baseline | 3 months | 6 months |
| CDAI | 18.3 (12.7) | 8 (7.8)*** | 5.9 (4.2)*** |
| mHAQ-DI | 0.9 (0.8) | 0.7 (0.8)*** | 0.6 (0.7)*** |
| Glucocorticoids dose, mg/dL | 4.3 (3.4) | 3.5 (2.5)** | 2.9 (2.4)*** |
| Glucocorticoids, n (%) | 79 (70.5) | 72 (64.3) | 67 (59.8)** |
| csDMARDs, n (%) | 97 (86.5) | 94 (83.9) | 91 (81.3) |
| Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 126.7 (16.8) | 124.3 (17.3) | 124.9 (18.2) |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 78.8 (9.4) | 77.6 (9.6) | 78.2 (10.7) |
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | 197.3 (38.2) | 205.8 (37.3)** | 201 (34.6) |
| HDL-cholesterol, mg/dL | 60.1 (16.9) | 62.9 (15.9) | 61.8 (15.5) |
| Tot-Chol/HDL ratio | 3.4 (1.1) | 3.4 (0.9) | 3.4 (0.9) |
| Triglycerides, mg/dL | 112.3 (78.2) | 111.1 (61.5) | 109.1 (53.7) |
| CRP, mg/L | 12.8 (17.1) | 6.6 (10.5)*** | 6.2 (8.5)*** |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 25.6 (5.4) | 26 (4.9) | 25.6 (4.9) |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 6 (5.4) | 7 (6.3) | 7 (6.3) |
| Hyperlipidaemia, n (%) | 45 (40.2) | 70 (62.5)*** | 66 (58.9)** |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 31 (27.7) | 32 (28.6) | 32 (28.6) |
| Hypertension therapy, n (%) | 26 (23.2) | 29 (25.9) | 30 (26.8) |
| ‘Progetto Cuore’ nr.112 | 6.9 (11.3) | 6.7 (11.1) | 7 (11.9) |
| QRISK3-2018 nr.112 | 10.8 (11.3) | 10.3 (10.8) | 10.4 (11.4) |
| RRS nr.105 | 6.9 (8.8) | 6 (6.9) | 5.8 (6.9)** |
| ERS-RA nr.112 | 10.8 (11.9) | 9.8 (10.9)** | 9.6 (10.5)*** |
Values are expressed as mean (SD) unless otherwise indicated. Seven patients with diabetes were excluded in the calculation of RRS as diabetes was an exclusion criteria.
*P<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001 versus baseline.
BMI, body mass index; CDAI, Clinical Disease Activity Index; CRP, C reactive protein; csDMARDs, conventional synthetic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs; ERS-RA, Expanded Risk Score in Rheumatoid Arthritis; HDL, high density lipoprotein; RRS, Reynolds Risk score; Tot-Chol, total cholesterol; mHAQ-DI, modified Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index.