Clinical and demographic features of patients with rheumatoid arthritis prior to MTX therapy (N=17)
| Age (years) (mean, SD) | 60.9 (12.1) |
| Sex (F:M) | 10:7 |
| RA disease duration (months) | 133 (130) |
| NSAIDs (%) | 17 (100) |
| Prior DMARDs (n) | 0=3 |
| 1=8 | |
| 2=5 | |
| 3=1 | |
| Haemoglobin (g/dL) (mean, SD) | 12.6 (2.0) |
| Western ESR (mm/hour) (mean, SD) | 67.9 (34.1) |
| RF (%) | 14 (82) |
| Prednisone (N) (mean dose (SD)) | 10 (5.4 (2.4)) |
DMARDs, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; F, female; M, male; MTX, methotrexate; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; RF, rheumatoid factor; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.