Modifications in Lipid Levels Are Independent of Serum TNF-α in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results of an Observational 24-Week Cohort Study Comparing Patients Receiving Etanercept Plus Methotrexate or Methotrexate as Monotherapy

Table 3

Within-group comparisons over time of changes in selected clinical variables, C-reactive protein levels (CRP), and rheumatoid factor titers.

Characteristic	ETA + MTX			MTX
	Baseline; ( = 22)	4 weeks; ( = 22)	24 weeks; ( = 22)	Baseline; ( = 13)	4 weeks; ( = 13)	24 weeks; ( = 13)
DAS-28 score	6.2 ± 0.8	3.8 ± 1.6^‡	3.6 ± 1.4^‡	6.5 ± 1.1	5.5 ± 1.3**	4.9 ± 1.2^‡
HAQ-DI score	1.45 ± 0.52	0.57 ± 0.43^‡	0.57 ± 0.50^‡	1.51 ± 0.64	1.13 ± 0.61^‡	0.86 ± 0.47^‡
Disease activity (physician)	61 ± 15	29 ± 17^‡	25 ± 16^‡	60 ± 17	43 ± 24^†	41 ± 17^†
Rheumatoid factor, U/mL	501.59 ± 752.79	458.77 ± 669.78	1386.57 ± 4465.90	309.97 ± 422.72	138.95 ± 186.08	84.68 ± 172.53*
CRP, mg/L	20.08 ± 30.02	14.82 ± 17.72	41.58 ± 91.04	43.67 ± 61.11	23.19 ± 26.89	28.92 ± 43.14

ETA + MTX: etanercept plus methotrexate group; MTX: methotrexate as monotherapy group; DAS-28: disease activity score; HAQ-DI: Health Assessment Quest-Disability Index. Quantitative variables are expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD). Intragroup comparisons were performed with the Student’s -test. *, **, ^†, and ^‡.