Demographic and clinical characteristics for latent profile groups
| Low PtGA/low MDGA (n=222) | Moderate PtGA/moderate MDGA (n=115) | High PtGA/high MDGA (n=91) | High PtGA/low MDGA (n=144) | Low PtGA/high MDGA (n=46) | P values | |
| Age, years | 52.4±12.1a | 49.9±11.0a | 50.8±10.9a | 55.4±11.1b | 49.8±10.9a | 0.001 |
| Sex (female) | 186 (83.8) | 99 (86.1) | 82 (90.1) | 131 (91.0) | 39 (84.8) | 0.28 |
| RA duration, years | 10.5±7.9a | 9.2±7.3a | 10.2±7.6ab | 12.8±9.8b | 9.1±9.1a | 0.01 |
| RF positive | 207 (93.2) | 106 (92.2) | 83 (91.2) | 128 (88.9) | 42 (91.3) | 0.58 |
| ACPA positive | 197 (88.7) | 101 (87.8) | 81 (89.0) | 124 (86.1) | 42 (91.3) | 0.88 |
| Erosions | 110 (49.5) | 54 (47.0) | 44 (48.4) | 84 (58.3) | 24 (52.2) | 0.54 |
| IAD present | 53 (23.9) | 34 (29.6) | 26 (28.6) | 46 (31.9) | 9 (19.6) | 0.33 |
| Fibromyalgia | 24 (10.8)a | 16 (13.9)ab | 15 (16.5)ab | 36 (25.0)b | 5 (10.9)ab | 0.01 |
| Number of csDMARDs | 1.6±0.9 | 1.4±0.9 | 1.3 ±1.1 | 1.5±1.0 | 1.6±1.0 | 0.27 |
| bDMARD use | 74 (33.3) | 42 (36.5) | 33 (36.3) | 50 (34.7) | 15 (32.6) | 0.97 |
| SJC (28) | 1.1±1.5a | 4.4±2.3b | 10.5±4.7c | 1.0±1.3a | 9.9±4.2c | <0.001 |
| TJC (28) | 1.2±2.5a | 5.9±3.9b | 12.9±6.5c | 2.0±3.7a | 9.9±6.2d | <0.001 |
| ESR (mm/hour) | 28.0±17.2a | 36.8±22.2b | 52.2±26.1c | 31.1±19.2a | 42.7±21.7b | <0.001 |
| CRP (mg/dL) | 0.6±0.7a | 1.3±1.8bd | 2.6±3.2c | 0.9±1.0ab | 1.7±2.9d | <0.001 |
| DAS28-ESR | 3.0±0.9a | 5.0±0.7b | 6.5±0.8c | 3.9±0.9d | 5.4±0.8e | <0.001 |
| PtGA | 1.9±1.3a | 5.3±1.8b | 7.4±1.5c | 6.9±1.6d | 2.3±1.5a | <0.001 |
| MDGA | 1.0±1.0a | 4.4±1.0b | 8.6±1.2c | 1.2±1.1a | 8.1±1.4d | <0.001 |
| PtGA–MDGA difference | 0.8±1.5a | 0.8±1.7a | −1.2±1.7b | 5.7±1.5c | −5.8±1.6d | <0.001 |
Values are the mean±SD or number (per cent). 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 not sharing subscript letters (a, b and c) denote subgroups whose averages differ significantly (p<0.05).
ACPA, anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies; bDMARDs, biological disease modifying antirheumatic drugs; CRP, C reactive protein; DAS28-ESR, 28 joint-based disease activity index with ESR; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; IAD, irreversible articular damage; MDGA, physician global assessment; n-csDMARDs, number of concurrent conventional synthetic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs; PtGA, patient global assessment; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; RF, rheumatoid factor; SJC, swelling joint count out of 28 joints; TJC, tenderness joint count out of 28 joints.