Biomarkers of Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Patients with Autoimmune Disorders
Table 1
Baseline characteristics of the 24 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the 25 with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) divided according to intima-media thickness (IMT) values obtained by Echo-colour Doppler images.
Patients with RA
Patients with PsA
IMT > 1
IMT ≤ 1
P
c
IMT > 1
IMT ≤ 1
P
c
6
18
11
14
Age (years), median (range)
54 (48–65)
55.5 (22–66)
0.424
48 (35–62)
52 (35–69)
0.369
Male/female
1/5
2/16
1.0
7/4
10/4
1.0
Duration of the disease (years), median (range)
6 (1–25)
3 (0.5–16)
0.149
4 (0.4–10)
9.5 (1–24)
0.073
Smokinga, (%)
3 (50)
5 (28)
0.297
3 (27)
4 (28)
1.0
Hypertensionb, (%)
2 (33)
2 (11)
0.194
2 (18)
0 (0)
0.183
Total cholesterol (mg/dL), median (range)
159.5 (135–165)
155 (83–216)
0.774
170 (125–208)
179 (110–204)
0.756
HDL cholesterol (mg/dL), median (range)
34 (26–48)
43 (14–78)
0.454
31 (18–54)
33 (17–58)
0.634
Triglycerides (mg/dL), median (range)
85.5 (76–182)
79 (36–258)
0.526
103 (70–160)
98 (43–177)
0.382
ESR (mm/h) median (range)
16 (11–36)
21 (6–84)
0.449
15 (5–50)
7 (2–40)
0.088
CRP (mg/L), median (range)
5.5 (1.1−20)
2.5 (0–60)
0.716
1.35 (0–18)
2.13 (0–8.8)
0.396
Uricemia (mg/dL), median (range)
4.4 (2.9–6.2)
3.25 (2.1–8.0)
0.206
4.98 (2.9–8.7)
4.84 (2.3–11.2)
0.8
aSmoking is defined as current smokers;
bHypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg, or need for hypertensive medication;
cPearson’s chi-squared test or Fisher exact test for discrete variables and Wilcoxon test for continuous variables to evaluate the presence of statistically significant differences between RA or PsA patients with IMT > 1 and those with IMT ≤ 1; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP: C reactive protein; IMT: intima-media thickness.
