Baseline characteristics of patients according to concordant/discordant groups*
| Positive discordance (n=168) | Concordant (n=308) | Negative discordance (n=63) | p Value | |
| Age, years | 53.56±10.63 | 51.89±11.67a | 51.93±10.06a | 0.27 |
| Sex (female) | 153 (91.07)a | 264 (85.71)a | 53 (84.13)a | 0.18 |
| RA duration, years | 12.22±8.82a | 10.53±7.63a | 10.38±8.34a | 0.08 |
| RF positive | 152 (90.48)a | 290 (94.16)a | 55 (87.30)a | 0.11 |
| ACPA positive | 146 (86.90)a | 285 (92.53)a | 54 (85.71)a | 0.07 |
| Erosions | 79 (47.02)a | 163 (52.92)a | 38 (60.32)a | 0.17 |
| IAD present | 46 (27.38)a | 60 (19.48)a | 10 (15.87)a | 0.07 |
| Fibromyalgia | 35 (20.83)a | 36 (11.69)b | 5 (7.94)a,b | 0.01 |
| TJC | 2.13±3.62a | 3.98±5.56b | 10.17± 6.39c | <0.001 |
| SJC | 1.15±1.69a | 3.18±3.98b | 11.10± 5.09c | <0.001 |
| ESR (mm/hour) | 31.61±21.01a | 35.02±22.96a | 44.65±23.49b | <0.001 |
| CRP (mg/dL) | 0.90±1.15a | 1.00±1.27a | 1.64±1.78b | <0.001 |
| DAS28-4 ESR | 3.91±1.12a | 4.00±1.62a | 5.59±0.98b | <0.001 |
| CDAI | 11.12±6.84a | 13.53±13.76a | 32.69±11.40b | <0.001 |
| SDAI | 12.02±7.14a | 14.48±14.40a | 34.33±12.04b | <0.001 |
| Prednisone use | 45 (26.79)a | 70 (22.73)a | 14 (22.22)a | 0.58 |
| Number of csDMARDs | 1.73±0.97a | 1.66±0.92a | 1.63±0.89a | 0.70 |
| bDMARD use | 84 (50.00)a | 144 (46.75)a | 35 (55.55)a | 0.41 |
| HAQ-DI | 1.49±0.72a | 1.07±0.83b | 1.32±0.72 a,c | <0. 001 |
| Pain | 5.93±2.33a | 3.51±2.74b | 3.79±2.22 a,c | <0. 001 |
| PHQ-9 | 9.10±6.85a | 5.69±5.96b | 5.36±5.27b | <0. 001 |
| Fatigue | 5.50±3.01a | 3.17±2.99b | 3.13±2.59b | <0.001 |
| SF-GH domain | 39.69±20.02a | 52.51±22.43b | 46.83±23.06 a,b | <0.001 |
Group comparisons made using χ2 and analysis of variance tests for categorical and continuous variables. p Values for pairwise contrasts are Benjamini-Hochberg adjusted; values in a row with different subscript letters indicate groups that differ significantly (p<0.05).
*Values are the mean±SD or number (%).
ACPA, anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies; bDMARD, biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; CDAI, clinical disease activity index; CRP, C-reactive protein; csDMARDs, number of concomitant synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; DAS28-4 ESR, 28 joint-based disease activity index with ESR; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; HAQ-DI, Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index; IAD, irreversible articular damage; PHQ-9, Patient Health Questionnaire-9; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; RF, rheumatoid factor; SDAI, simplified disease activity index; SF-GH, Short-Form Health Survey general health scale; SJC, swelling joint count; TJC, tenderness joint count.