IL2RA is associated with persistence of rheumatoid arthritis

Table 1 Patient characteristics of the Leiden EAC cohort

	Total (n = 645)	DMARD-free sustained remission achieved during follow-up (n = 119)	DMARD-free sustained remission not achieved during follow-up (n = 526)
Baseline
Age (years), mean (SD)	56.9 (15.6)	58.8 (16.9)	56.5 (15.3)
Female, n (%)	430 (66.7)	74 (62.2)	356 (67.7)
Symptom duration (weeks), median (IQR)	18.8 (10.3–37.3)	12.9 (7.3–28.6)	20.3 (11.4–40.0)
Swollen joint count in 66 joints, median (IQR)	8 (4–13)	9 (4–15)	8 (4–13)
CRP level (mg/l), median (IQR)	18 (8–42)	18 (8–43)	18 (7–37)
ACPA-positive, n (%)	332 (52.5)	15 (13.0)	317 (61.3)
RF-positive, n (%)	371 (57.8)	32 (27.1)	339 (64.7)
Follow-up
Duration until DMARD-free sustained remission (years), median (IQR)		4.3 (2.9–6.1)	N/A

ACPA anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies, CRP C-reactive protein, DMARD disease-modifying antirheumatic drug, EAC Early Arthritis Clinic, IQR interquartile range, N/A not applicable, RF rheumatoid factor, SD standard deviation
Data were missing on swollen joint count in seven patients, on CRP level in 29 patients, on ACPA in 13 patients, on RF in three patients, and on symptom duration in 47 patients
The median symptom duration and the frequencies of ACPA-positivity and RF-positivity were significantly different between patients who achieved and did not achieve DMARD-free sustained remission during follow-up (all p <0.001). The other baseline characteristics did not differ between the groups