Table 5 Characteristics of women with RA according to the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome
Variables | Total (n= 105) | With MetS (n= 34) | Without MetS (n= 71) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Demographics | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Age, median (range), years | 52.7 (26 to 71) | 54.6 (26 to 71) | 50.8 (26 to 71) | 0.003 |
   Postmenopausal women, n (%) | 52 (49.5) | 16 (47.1) | 36 (50.7) | 0.271 |
   Regular intentional exercise, n (%) | 26 (24.8) | 5 (14.3) | 21 (29.6) | < 0.001 |
   Family history of CHD, n (%) | 22 (20.9) | 7 (20.6) | 15 (21.1) | 0.537 |
RA disease characteristics | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   RA duration, median (range), months | 21 (3 to 36) | 26 (3 to 36) | 16 (3 to 36) | 0.046 |
   RF seropositivity, n (%) | 73 (69.5) | 25 (73.5) | 48 (67.6) | 0.049 |
   ESR (mm in first hour), mean (S.D.) | 27.5 (13.9) | 33.6 (11.3) | 21.4 (9.6) | 0.038 |
   DAS28 score, mean (S.D.) | 4.1 (1.3) | 4.7 (1.5) | 3.5 (1.1) | 0.007 |
   HAQ score (range 0 to 3), mean (S.D.) | 0.96 (0.57) | 1.13 (0.58) | 0.79 (0.55) | 0.043 |
SCORE function, %, mean (S.D.) | 8.9 (3.6) | 9.7 (4.2) | 8.1 (3.1) | < 0.001 |
SCORE >10%, n (%) | 16 (15.3) | 8 (23.6) | 9 (12.6) | < 0.001 |
Current RA medications | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Methotrexate, n (%) | 68 (64.8) | 18 (52.9) | 50 (70.4) | < 0.001 |
   Sulphasalazine, n (%) | 32 (30.5) | 10 (29.4) | 22 (30.9) | 0.714 |
   Hydroxychloroquine, n (%) | 64 (60.9) | 21 (61.7) | 43 (60.5) | 0.113 |
   NSAIDs/COX-II, n (%) | 29 (27.6) | 10 (29.4) | 19 (26.8) | 0.139 |
   Glucocorticoids use, n (%) | 72 (68.6) | 23 (67.6) | 49 (69.1) | 0.162 |
   Anti-hypertensive, n (%) | 20 (19.1) | 9 (26.5) | 11 (15.5) | < 0.001 |
   Statin/fibrate, n (%) | 19 (18.1) | 11 (32.3) | 8 (11.3) | < 0.001 |