Methotrexate, Cyclosporine A, and Biologics Protect against Atherosclerosis in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Table 1
Study and control group characteristics.
RA ()
Controls ()
value
Age, years
57.61 (12.62)
55.50 (9.37)
0.1
Males
58 (18.30%)
22 (19.81%)
0.7
Ever-smokers
140 (44.16%)
62 (55.86%)
0.04
Pack-years
9.66 (16.04)
13.13 (18.20)
0.06
BMI, kg/m2
25.54 (4.37)
27.46 (4.69)
0.0001
Hypertension
137 (43.22%)
38 (34.23%)
0.1
Creatinine, mg/dL
0.73 (0.27)
0.65 (0.07)▼
0.3
ESR, mm/h
31.77 (23.64)
10.63 (9.19)
<
CRP, mg/dL
2.15 (3.2)
0.43 (0.641)
<
Total cholesterol, mg/dL
203.8 (41.3)
215.8 (44.3)
0.01
LDL cholesterol, mg/dL
115.7 (34.3)†
127.4 (40.5)
0.004
HDL cholesterol, mg/dL
63.2 (19.7)†
66.5 (19)
0.1
Triglycerides, mg/dL
128.6 (60.5)†
116.2 (56.8)
0.06
Framingham 10-year risk score
7.17 (5.4)†
7.86 (6.32)
0.3
Presence of atherosclerotic plaques in carotid and/or femoral arteries
74 (23.34%)
14 (12.61%)
0.015
CIMT, mm
0.718 (0.181)
0.682 (0.167)
0.07
FIMT, mm
0.516 (0.168)
0.457 (0.099)
0.0005
Disease duration, years
10.74 (8.98)
Methotrexate ever
303 (95.58%)
Sulphasalazine ever
148 (46.69%)
Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine ever
98 (30.91%)
Gold salts ever
46 (14.51%)
Azathioprine ever
18 (5.68%)
Cyclophosphamide ever
7 (2.21%)
Cyclosporine A ever
77 (24.29%)
Leflunomide ever
123 (38.8%)
Biologic agents ever
61 (19.24)
Infliximab ever
24 (7.57%)
Adalimumab ever
12 (3.78%)
Etanercept ever
39 (12.3%)
Rituximab ever
13 (4.1%)
Continuous treatment with DMARDs
141 (45.19%)
RF positivity
217 (70.68%)#
ACPA positivity
211 (77.29%)
DAS28
4.7 (1.55)
Presence of erosions in hand and/or feet X-ray
176 (70.97%)▲
Data is presented as mean (standard deviation) for continuous variables and number (percentage) for categorical variables. Data available for 312 patients. #Data available for 307 patients. Data available for 273 patients. Data available for 286 patients. †Data available for 302 patients. ▲Data available for 248 patients. ▼Data available for 102 patients.
