Increased Serum Interleukin-2 Levels Are Associated with Abnormal Peripheral Blood Natural Killer Cell Levels in Patients with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis
Table 1
Clinical characteristics of RA patients in each disease activity group.
(a)
Remission group (A) (n = 33)
Low disease activity group (B) (n = 38)
Moderate-high disease activity group (C) (n = 35)
p A vs. B
p A vs. C
p B vs. C
Demographics
Age (years)a
45.09 ± 13.77
47.18 ± 16.41
49.20 ± 14.60
0.474
0.302
0.778
Male, n (%)
11 (33.33%)
4 (10.53%)
10 (28.57%)
—
—
—
Female, n (%)
22 (66.67%)
34(89.47%)
25 (71.43%)
—
—
—
Course of disease (month)b
10.00 6.25-12.75
9.00 5.75-15.25
12.00 7.00-17.00
0.957
0.273
0.342
Height (m)a
1.63 ± 0.07
1.61 ± 0.063
1.63 ± 0.072
0.632
0.861
0.502
Weight (kg)a
64.39 ± 16.96
58.95 ± 9.92
59.69 ± 10.15
0.286
0.740
0.635
BMIa
24.10 ± 4.60
22.66 ± 3.22
22.34 ± 3.16
0.256
0.175
0.781
ESR, (mm/h)b
10.50 6.00-15.75
20.00 10.00-34.25
43.00 33.00-63.00
0.003
< 0.001
< 0.001
CRP (mg/ml)b
4.10 2.56-7.41
7.273.66-16.30
10.104.88-22.48
0.221
0.008
0.134
VAS scoreb
10.00 5.00-15.00
15.00 11.25-25.00
35.00 25.00-50.00
0.002
< 0.001
0.001
DAS28 score a
1.87 ± 0.60
2.78 ± 0.39
4.84 ± 0.67
< 0.001
< 0.001
< 0.001
b
6.80 5.30-8.77
6.80 5.45-9.05
7.40 5.00-9.10
0.782
1.000
0.710
Hb (g/l)a
137.95 ± 16.77
124.75 ± 13.56
123.11 ± 16.36
0.001
< 0.001
0.527
229.00 187.50-277.40
237.50 204.00-308.60
251.00 179.00-315.00
0.340
0.404
0.968
2.10 1.60-2.47
1.79 1.31-2.50
1.68 1.05-2.19
0.058
0.009
0.446
RF (U/ml)b
82.35 40.00-184.75
80.00 40.00-294.80
80.00 40.00-160.00
0.484
0.835
0.362
Anti-CCP (RU/ml)b
397.45 39.98-1476.66
598.85 130.76-1300.03
394.80 187.90-1000.00
0.659
0.569
0.771
(b)
Remission group (A) ()
Low disease activity group (B) ()
Moderate-high disease activity group (C) ()
, A vs. B
, A vs. C
, B vs. C
Medication type
NSAIDS, (%)
11 (33.33%)
27 (71.05%)
22 (62.86%)
—
—
—
CS, (%)
12 (36.36%)
26 (68.42%)
25 (71.43%)
—
—
—
Oral prednisone dose (mg/day)b
7.50 4.38-10.00
10.00 5.00-12.50
10.00 8.75-13.75
0.139
0.015
0.311
Prednisone use time (month)b
3.65 2.80-4.00
4.00 2.75-5.25
4.00 2.25-5.00
0.076
0.546
0.301
MTX, (%)
3 (9.09%)
5 (13.16%)
5 (14.29%)
—
—
—
LEF, (%)
3 (9.09%)
3 (7.89%)
4 (11.43%)
—
—
—
HCQ, (%)
5 (15.16%)
7 (18.42%)
5 (14.29%)
—
—
—
TNF-ɑ inhibitors, (%) (50 mg/week)
5 (15.16%)
9 (23.68%)
12 (34.29%)
—
—
—
TNF-ɑ inhibitor use time (week)b
5.50 2.50-7.75
6.00 3.00-11.00
7.00 3.00-9.00
0.624
0.489
0.691
aResults are expressed as the .bResults are expressed as the median and 25th and 75th percentiles. The independent-samples -test was used for analysis of quantitative variables with normal distributions. Wilcoxon’s rank sum test was used for analysis of quantitative variables with a nonnormal distribution. Abbreviations: RA: rheumatoid arthritis; BMI: body mass index; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP: C-reaction protein; VAS: visual analogue scale; WBC: white blood cells; Hb: hemoglobin; PLT: platelets; LY: lymphocytes; RF: rheumatoid factor; Anti-CCP: anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies; MTX: methotrexate; LEF: leflunomide; HCQ: hydroxychloroquine; CS: corticosteroid; NSAID: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
