All patients (n=115) | MTX+TNF inhibitor (n=58) | Triple therapy (n=57) | |
n (%) or median (IQR) | |||
Age, years | 58.0 (53.0, 65.0) | 58.0 (53.0, 66.0) | 59.0 (54.0, 63.0) |
Sex, female | 82 (71.3) | 39 (67.2) | 43 (75.4) |
Race | |||
White | 90 (80.4) | 49 (87.5) | 41 (73.2) |
Black | 12 (10.7) | 6 (10.7) | 6 (10.7) |
Other | 10 (8.9) | 1 (1.8) | 9 (16.1) |
Ethnicity | |||
Hispanic | 31 (27.0) | 15 (25.9) | 16 (28.1) |
Non-Hispanic | 84 (73.0) | 43 (74.1) | 41 (71.9) |
RA disease duration, years | 1.4 (0.5, 6.6) | 1.5 (0.5, 7.2) | 1.4 (0.5, 5.3) |
Serologic status, positive | 63 (56.8) | 35 (61.4) | 28 (51.9) |
DAS28-CRP | 4.8 (4.0, 5.6) | 4.9 (4.0, 5.5) | 4.6 (3.7, 5.6) |
hsCRP (mg/L) | 3.9 (1.6, 9.8) | 3.9 (1.4, 7.6) | 4.0 (1.8, 11.1) |
Glucocorticoid use | 38 (33.0) | 20 (34.5) | 18 (31.6) |
NSAID use | 46 (40.0) | 26 (33.8) | 20 (35.1) |
Aspirin use | 28 (24.4) | 19 (32.8) | 9 (15.8) |
Methotrexate weekly dose (mg) | 20.0 (15.0, 25.0) | 20.0 (20.0, 25.0) | 20.0 (15.0, 25.0) |
Heath assessment questionnaire | 1.1 (0.5, 1.8) | 1.1 (0.4, 1.8) | 1.3 (0.6, 1.6) |
Body mass index (kg/m2) | 29.3 (25.7, 33.2) | 29.5 (26.2, 34.1) | 28.8 (25.7, 32.9) |
Hypertension | 52 (45.2) | 28 (48.3) | 24 (42.1) |
Hyperlipidaemia | 23 (20.0) | 12 (20.7) | 11 (19.3) |
Diabetes mellitus | 2 (1.7) | 2 (3.5) | 0 (0.0) |
Tobacco use | |||
Current | 14 (12.2) | 4 (6.9) | 10 (17.5) |
Past | 30 (26.1) | 18 (31.0) | 12 (21.1) |
Never | 71 (61.7) | 36 (62.1) | 35 (61.4) |
Statin use | |||
None | 93 (80.9) | 47 (81.0) | 46 (80.7) |
Low-moderate intensity | 20 (17.4) | 10 (17.2) | 10 (17.5) |
High intensity* | 2 (1.7) | 1 (1.7) | 1 (1.8) |
Any cardiovascular risk factor† | 63 (54.8) | 31 (53.5) | 32 (56.1) |
*High intensity statin use was an exclusion. The inclusion of these two patients was considered a protocol violation and only determined after randomisation and treatment initiation.
†Cardiovascular risk factors include the presence of hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia or current tobacco use (all self-reported at baseline).
DAS28, disease activity score in 28 joints; hsCRP, high sensitivity C reactive protein; MTX, methotrexate; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; TNF, tumour necrosis factor.