Table 2 Baseline characteristics of the whole population and comparison between patients with/without metabolic syndrome (according to AHA/NHLBI definition)
Characteristic | Controls | Whole population | Patients with MetS | Patients without MetS | P value a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
( n = 160) | ( n = 160) | ( n = 28) | ( n = 132) | ||
Socio-demographic | |||||
Female gender | 142 (88.8) | 142 (88.8) | 22 (78.6) | 120 (90.9) | 0.09 |
Age (years) | 38 ± 12.4 | 38.1 ± 12.8 | 43.1 ± 10.5 | 37 ± 13 | 0.02 |
Years of formal education | 10.9 ± 3.8 | 10.9 ± 3.8 | 10.8 ± 3.5 | 11 ± 3.8 | 0.87 |
Current smokers | 16 (10) | 16 (10) | 2 (7.1) | 14 (10.6) | 0.74 |
Females with menopause (142 female) | 14 (9.9) | 14 (9.9) | 3 (13.6) | 11 (9.2) | 0.46 |
BMI (kg/m2) | 25.5 (19.2 to 41) | 25.9 (18.1 to 46.8) | 30.2 (23 to 46.8) | 24.8 (18 to 41.7) | 0.000 |
Disease characteristics | |||||
Disease duration (months) | NA | 5.3 (0.47 to 11.5) | 4.3 (1.4 to 10.5) | 5.3 (0.5 to 12.5) | 0.13 |
Patients with RF | NA | 130 (81.3) | 25 (89.3) | 105 (79.5) | 0.29 |
Patients with ACCP | NA | 134 (83.8) | 26 (92.9) | 108 (81.8) | 0.26 |
DAS28 | NA | 6 (2 to 8.7) | 6.1 (3 to 8.6) | 6 (2 to 8.7) | 0.94 |
ESR (mm/hour) | NA | 23 (2 to 102) | 22 (3 to 77) | 23 (2 to 102) | 0.86 |
CRP (mg/dl) | NA | 0.73 (0 to 14.7) | 0.76 (0.1 to 8.5) | 0.73 (0 to 14.7) | 0.95 |
HAQ | NA | 1.4 (0 to 3) | 1.4 (0 to 3) | 1.5 (0.3) | 0.39 |
Patients with erosions | NA | 15 (9.4) | 6 (21.4) | 9 (6.8) | 0.03 |
Comorbid conditions | |||||
Patients with ≥1 comorbid condition | NA | 82 (51.3) | 22 (78.6) | 60 (45.5) | 0.001 |
Patients with diabetes | NA | 6 (3.8) | 5 (17.9) | 1 (0.8) | 0.001 |
Patients with hypertension | NA | 13 (8.1) | 9 (32.1) | 4 (3) | 0.000 |
Patients with BMI ≥30 kg/m2 | NA | 35 (21.9) | 18 (75) | 17 (12.5) | 0.000 |
Treatment | |||||
Patients with DMARDs | NA | 44 (27.5) | 9 (32.1) | 35 (26.5) | 0.64 |
Patients with corticosteroids | NA | 59 (36.9) | 11 (39.3) | 48 (36.4) | 0.83 |
Patients with antimalarials | NA | 26 (16.3) | 5 (17.9) | 21 (15.9) | 0.78 |
Patients with other drugs | NA | 83 (51.9) | 14 (50) | 69 (52.3) | 0.84 |