Low levels of PCSK9 are associated with remission in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with anti-TNF-α: potential underlying mechanisms

Table 3 Crude and adjusted differences in mean reductions between quartiles at all follow up during TNF–α antagonist treatment for 1 year in RA patients

Model	Period (months)	Difference in mean decrease. Q1–Q2	P value	Difference in mean decrease. Q1–Q3	P value	Difference in mean decrease. Q1–Q4	P value
DAS28
Crude	0 to 3	0.3	0.27	0.43	0.13	0.37	0.18
	0 to 6	0.29	0.34	0.49	0.1	0.31	0.32
	0 to 12	0.56	0.1	0.67	0.06	0.91	0.01
Adjusted	0 to 3	0.32	0.23	0.46	0.11	0.45	0.12
	0 to 6	0.37	0.22	0.53	0.08	0.48	0.13
	0 to 12	0.65	0.06	0.76	0.03	1.06	0.004
CRP
Crude	0 to 3	6.63	0.39	6.73	0.39	13.61	0.08
	0 to 6	3.11	0.63	2.82	0.67	5.66	0.39
	0 to 12	7.67	0.39	10.68	0.23	9.26	0.31
Adjusted	0 to 3	6.07	0.44	5.16	0.52	13.79	0.09
	0 to 6	3.67	0.58	3.04	0.65	6.98	0.31
	0 to 12	8.56	0.32	11.64	0.19	10.32	0.25
ESR
Crude	0 to 3	0.14	0.96	1.9	0.6	5.89	0.11
	0 to 6	−1.87	0.64	1.07	0.79	0.68	0.86
	0 to 12	0.95	0.84	5.81	0.22	7.28	0.13
Adjusted	0 to 3	0.17	0.96	2.1	0.58	5.39	0.15
	0 to 6	−1.77	0.66	0.78	0.85	1.01	0.81
	0 to 12	1.43	0.76	6.87	0.16	6.98	0.15
HAQ
Crude	0 to 3	−0.03	0.98	2.84	0.16	−0.06	0.97
	0 to 6	0.03	0.76	0.08	0.4	−0.003	0.97
	0 to 12	0.07	0.51	0.99	0.39	0.08	0.47
Adjusted	0 to 3	−0.03	0.98	2.81	0.18	0.05	0.98
	0 to 6	0.06	0.55	0.12	0.26	0.03	0.75
	0 to 12	0.1	0.36	0.13	0.24	0.14	0.25

Results are indicated as mean and the number of patients is as indicated in Table 1. P values are calculated from the difference in disease outcomes at different quartiles compared to Q1. Adjustment was done for sex, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and CV history
DAS28 disease activity score of 28 joints, HAQ health assessment questionnaire, CRP C-reactive protein, ESR erythrocyte sedimentation rate, Q1 first quartile, Q2 second quartile, Q3 third quartile, Q4 fourth quartile

ISSN: 1478-6362