Insulin Resistance in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Is Associated with Low Appendicular Lean Mass

Table 4

Characteristics of non-insulin-resistant and insulin-resistant early RA patients.

	Insulin resistance		value
	Non-insulin-resistant	Insulin-resistant
Age, years	51 (2)	54 (2)	NS
Gender
Male, (%)	7 (17.1)	19 (37.3)	0.02
BMI, Kg/m^2	26.3 (0.8)	27.9 (0.9)	NS
CRP, mg/l	8.6 (3.0)	14.5 (2.4)	0.01
TNF-alpha, pg/ml	2.1 (0.1)	3.4 (0.4)	0.001
IL-6, pg/ml	8.6 (4.2)	23.2 (5.3)	<0.001
RF positive, (%)	25 (61.0)	39 (76.5)	NS
Anti-CCP positive, (%)	25 (61.0)	38 (74.5)	NS
DAS28 score, units	3.6 (0.2)	4.6 (0.2)	0.003
Low disease activity, (%)	18 (45.0)	11 (21.6)	0.02
Moderate disease activity, (%)	18 (43.9)	18 (35.3)	NS
High disease activity, (%)	5 (12.2)	22 (43.1)	0.001
GCS usage
Current user, (%)	10 (25.0)	16 (31.4)	NS
DMARD usage
Current user, (%)	24 (58.5)	27 (52.9)	NS
Disease duration, days	234.7 (37.5)	199.5 (32.3)	NS
Total fat mass, Kg	26.2 (1.7)	28.1 (1.6)	NS
FMI, Kg/m^2	9.5 (0.6)	10.6 (0.7)	NS
FFM, Kg	46.4 (1.2)	48.0 (1.4)	NS
FFMI, Kg/m^2	16.6 (0.3)	17.4 (0.3)	NS
ALM, Kg	18.7 (0.6)	19.3 (0.6)	NS
ALMI, Kg/BMI	0.73 (0.03)	0.72 (0.03)	NS

Values represent mean ± SE if not stated otherwise. BMI: body mass index; CRP: C-reactive protein; TNF-alpha: tumor necrosis factor-alpha; IL-6: interleukin 6; RF: rheumatoid factor; DAS28: disease activity score calculated using 28 joints; GCS: glucocorticosteroid; FMI: fat mass index (fat mass Kg/height m²); FFM: fat-free mass; FFMI: fat-free mass index (fat free mass/height m²); ALM: appendicular lean mass; ALMI: appendicular lean mass index (appendicular lean Kg/BMI).