Table 1

Characteristics of the study population

MetS presenta
 MetS absenta
 MetS presentb
 MetS absentb


n = 84
 n = 265
 n = 121
 n = 228
 P valuea
 P valueb
Demographics





     Age, years
 63.8 (± 8)
 63.1 (± 7)
 64.3 (± 8)
 62.7 (± 7)
 0.46
 0.045
     Female, percentage
 76
 63
 74
 62
 0.022
 0.028
RA-related characteristics





     DAS28
 4.2 (± 1.3)
 3.9 (± 1.4)
 4.1 (± 1.3)
 3.8 (± 1.4)
 0.21
 0.062
     ESR, mm/hour
 22 (10-35)
 16 (9-30)
 20 (10-34)
 17 (9-31)
 0.059
 0.33
     CRP, mg/L
 11 (4-21)
 6 (3-16)
 8 (3-18)
 6 (3-19)
 0.021
 0.46
     RA duration, years
 7 (4-10)
 7 (4-10)
 7 (4-10)
 7 (5-10)
 0.83
 0.19
     Erosion, percentage
 77
 83
 79
 83
 0.20
 0.36
     Number of DMARDs
 1 (1-2)
 1 (1-1)
 1 (1-2)
 1 (1-1)
 0.26
 0.43
     MTX current, percentage
 62
 60
 63
 59
 0.71
 0.46
     MTX only, percentage
 39
 39
 41
 38
 0.95
 0.67
     SSZ only, percentage
 8
 13
 9
 14
 0.23
 0.22
     HCQ only, percentage
 1
 4
 3
 4
 0.31
 0.55
     Combination of DMARDs, percentage
 31
 25
 29
 25
 0.24
 0.38
     TNF-blocking agent, percentage
 11
 9
 11
 9
 0.73
 0.65
     Prednisolone only, percentage
 1
 2
 3
 1
 1.00
 0.42
Cardiovascular risk factors





     Current smoker, percentage
 26
 31
 25
 32
 0.42
 0.15
     Pack-years, years
 17 (0-34)
 19 (2-38)
 19 (0-35)
 18 (2-38)
 0.23
 0.75
     BMI, kg/m2
 30 (± 4)
 26 (± 5)
 29 (± 4)
 25 (± 5)
 < 0.001
 < 0.001
     Creatinine, μmol/L
 89 (± 21)
 89 (± 16)
 91 (± 22)
 87 (± 14)
 0.99
 0.070
     Renal clearance, mL/minute
 81 (± 24)
 72 (± 19)
 77 (± 23)
 73 (± 19)
 0.003
 0.062
     Pulse, beats per minute
 76 (± 11)
 73 (± 9)
 75 (± 11)
 73 (± 9)
 0.005
 0.015
     Diabetes mellitus, percentage
 14
 3
 12
 3
 < 0.001
 0.001
     Hypothyroidism, percentage
 12
 2
 9
 2
 0.001
 0.003

aMetabolic syndrome (MetS) according to National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) 2001; bMetS according to NCEP 2004. Continuous variables are presented as means (± standard deviations) in cases of normal distribution or as medians (interquartile ranges) in cases of non-normal distribution. BMI, body mass index; CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS28, disease activity score using 28 joint counts; DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; HCQ, hydroxychloroquine; MTX, methotrexate; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; SSZ, sulfasalazine; TNF, tumour necrosis factor.

Raterman et al. Arthritis Research & Therapy 2009 11:413   doi:10.1186/ar2805