Effect of Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitor Therapy on Osteoclasts Precursors in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Table 1

Baseline and follow-up characteristics of patients.

		RA patients ()		-value
	Baseline		Follow-up
Age (years)		50 [38–63]		—
% Females		71%		—
Symptoms duration (years)		6 [3.5–9.5]		—
Rheumatoid factor (% positive)		71		—
ACPA (% positive)		53		—
Erosive (% y)		59		—
Treatment with NSAIDs (% y)		47		—
Treatment with DMARD (% y)		100		—
DMARD duration (months)		15 [3–51]		—
ESR (mm/h)	28 [18–48]		21 [13–26]	0.0257
CRP (mg/dl)	1.4 [0.7–2.0]		0.3 [0.04–0.8]	0.0018
Tender joint count	9 [4–14]		0 [0–2]	0.0005
Swollen joint count	7 [4–9]		0 [0-0]	0.0005
DAS28-CRP	5.6 [5.2–6.3]		2.9 [2.2–3.5]	<0.0001
HAQ	1.7 [0.8–2.0]		0.1 [0.0–1.0]	0.0059
TNFi duration (months)	—		6 [6–12]	—

Data is represented as median [Interquartile range] unless stated otherwise; -value < 0.05 is considered significant; ACPA - anti-citrullinated protein antibodies; CRP – C-reactive protein; DAS – disease activity score; DMARDs – disease modifying antirheumatic drugs; ESR – erythrocyte sedimentation rate; HAQ - Health assessment questionnaire; NSAIDs - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; RA – rheumatoid arthritis; TNFi – tumor necrosis factor inhibitors; y – yes.