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Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the adherent and non-adherent subgroups

From: I do not want to suppress the natural process of inflammation: new insights on factors associated with non-adherence in rheumatoid arthritis

 

Non-adherenta

Adherentb

p value

Number of patientsc, n (%)

43 (32.8%)

88 (67.2%)

–

Female, n (%)

36 (83.7%)

73 (83.0%)

0.912

Age (years), mean (±SD)

58.3 (±13.1)

64.1 (±13.3)

0.014

Disease duration ( years)d, mean (±SD)

10.9 (±7.6)

12.4 (±9.3)

0.792

Treatment duration (years)e, mean (±SD)

9.5 (±7.3)

8.8 (±7.2)

0.549

HAQ, mean (±SD)

0.9 (±0.8)

0.7 (±0.7)

0.233

SDAI, mean (±SD)

10.0 (±8.7)

6.9 (±6.4)

0.078

CDAI, mean (±SD)

9.2 (±8.2)

7.1 (±7.6)

0.121

PGA VASf, mean (±SD)

29.8 (±24.7)

27.8 (±26.7)

0.453

EGA VASg, mean (±SD)

14.7 (±16.2)

12.2 (±15.5)

0.325

Pain VASh, mean (±SD)

30.4 (±25.3)

28.8 (±28.2)

0.554

SJC32, mean (±SD)

2.8 (±4.3)

1.4 (±2.3)

0.128

TJC32, mean (±SD)

5.3 (±6.5)

2.6 (±5.0)

0.008

RF positive, n (%)

19 (44.2%)

46 (52.3%)

0.437

  1. Data were extracted from the last clinical visit of each patient
  2. Metric variables are shown in terms of mean and standard deviation. For nominal variables, absolute and relative frequencies were calculated
  3. The p-value was calculated using Chi-Square test for nominal variables, and the Mann-Whitney U Test for ordinal and metric variables; significant results are highlighted in bold
  4. CDAI Clinical Disease Activity Index, EGA evaluator global assessment, HAQ Health Assessment Questionnaire, PGA patient global assessment, RF rheumatoid factor, SDAI Simplified Disease Activity Index, SJC32 swollen joint count using a 32-joint count, TJC32 tender joint count using a 32-joint count, VAS visual analogue scale
  5. aPatients were classified as non-adherent when they reported a change in intake of medication or other prescription without consulting a professional, or when they reported taking less than approximately 80% of the medication (steroids and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs)) as prescribed, or missing appointments occasionally (out of 131 patients; patients who died or had other predominant diseases (n = 36) were not assigned to the subgroups adherent or non-adherent)
  6. bPatients were classified as adherent when they reported following the treatment plan and visiting the outpatient clinic (or any other institute/health professional) as recommended (out of 131 patients; patients who died or had other predominant diseases (n = 36) were not assigned to the subgroups adherent or non-adherent)
  7. cTotal n = 131 patients; patients who died or had other predominant diseases (n = 36) were not assigned to the subgroups adherent or non-adherent
  8. dDisease duration refers to the time duration between the first symptoms reported by the patient and the last visit at the centres
  9. eTreatment duration refers to the time duration between the first and the last visit when the patients presented themselves at the centres
  10. fPatient self-report measure using a 100-mm VAS [53]
  11. gIn addition to the PGA, EGA integrates subjective and objective measures obtained by the evaluator [53]
  12. hMeasured using a 100-mm VAS
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Arthritis Research & Therapy

ISSN: 1478-6362

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