Table 1

Baseline characteristics of the study population (n = 165)

Characteristic

Value

No. female (%)

95 (57.6)

Median age, years (range)

58.8 (19–85)

Median duration of symptoms, months (range)

3 (1–12)

No. with disease duration of 3 months or less (%)

87 (52.7)

Median number of joints with synovitis (range)

10 (3–58)

No. fulfilling at least four ACR criteria for RA (%)

133 (80.6)

Mean M-HAQ score (range)

0.93 (0–2.75)

No. with M-HAQ score ≥ 1.0 (%)

77 (47.0)

Median DAS28-3 score (range)

5.01 (2.09–7.85)

No. with RF ≥ 40 IU/mL (%)

68 (41.2)

No. with anti-CCP ≥ 20 U/mL; positive (%)

53 (33.1)

No. with positive anti-Sa antibodies (%)

46 (28.0)

No. with CRP ≥ 8.0 mg/L (%)

119 (72.6)

No. with at least one HLA-DR 'shared epitope' (%)

77 (47.0)

No. with two HLA-DR 'shared epitopes' (%)

22 (13.4)

Median SvH score (range)

4 (0–54)

No. with total SvH score ≥ 10 (%)

31 (18.8)

No. with erosion SvH score ≥ 5 (%)

30 (18.2)

ACR, American College of Rheumatology; CCP, cyclic citrullinated peptide; CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS28-3, Disease Activity Score using 28 joints and 3 variables (tender and swollen joint counts and C-reactive protein); M-HAQ, modified Health Assessment Questionnaire; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; RF, rheumatoid factor; SvH, Sharp–van der Heijde.

Boire et al. Arthritis Research & Therapy 2005 7:R592   doi:10.1186/ar1719