Immune response profiling in early rheumatoid arthritis: discovery of a novel interaction of treatment response with viral immunity

Table 1 Characteristics at baseline and follow up of the 71 patients with early RA

Variable	Baseline	Follow up	P
Age	56.4 (12.7)	-	-
Female	47 (66%)	-	-
Duration of symptoms, months	10.3 (11.6)	-	-
Smoking status (current)	15 (21%)	-	-
Body mass index (kg/m²)	30.6 (7.2)	-	-
Rheumatoid factor-positive	55 (79%)	-	-
ACPA-positive	63 (89%)	-	-
CMV-IgG-positive	30 (42%)	-	-
EBV-IgG-positive	64 (90%)	-	-
DAS28-CRP (four-variable)	4.9 (1.0)	3.6 (1.3)	<0.001
HAQ disability index	0.9 (0.5)	0.5 (0.6)	<0.001
C-reactive protein (mg/L)	12.6 (18.0)	6.3 (7.9)	0.003

Data are mean (SD) or number (%) as appropriate. RA, rheumatoid arthritis; ACPA, anti-citrullinated protein antibodies; DAS28, Disease Activity Score in 28 joints; HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire; CMV, cytomegalovirus; EBV, Epstein-Barr virus; DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug.

ISSN: 1478-6362