The association between disease activity and NT-proBNP in 238 patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a 10-year longitudinal study

Table 1 Baseline characteristics with comparison between patients with pathological versus normal levels of NT-proBNP

	All patients	NT-proBNP-negative^a n = 202	NT-proBNP-positive^a n = 35	P value
Age, years	51.9 (13.0)	51.4 (12.9)	54.3 (13.7)	0.17
Female gender	175 (73.5)	151 (74.8)	23 (65.7)	0.26
Disease duration, years	2.3 (1.2)	2.2 (1.1)	2.4 (1.3)	0.41
RF IgM-positive, ≥ 25	114 (47.9)	97 (48.0)	16 (45.7)	0.80
Anti-CCP-positive, ≥ 25	144 (60.5)	125 (61.9)	18 (51.4)	0.24
Sharp score	6.8 (11.8)	6.8 (12.3)	6.5 (8.1)	0.20
C-reactive protein, mg/L	9.9 (12.7)	9.2 (11.8)	13.9 (15.8)	0.05
DMARD user	124 (52.1)	104 (51.5)	19 (54.3)	0.76
NSAID user	109 (45.8	92 (45.5)	17 (48.6)	0.74
Glucocorticoid user, oral	65 (27.2)	51 (25.2)	14 (40)	0.07

Values are presented as mean (standard deviation) for continuous variables and as number (percentage) for counts. ^aAge- and gender-adjusted reference levels. anti-CCP, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody; DMARD, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; NT-proBNP, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide; RF, rheumatoid factor; Sharp score, van der Heijde modified Sharp criteria.

ISSN: 1478-6362