Association between cumulative joint tenderness in the absence of joint swelling and local joint damage progression
| Joints included (n) | β (95% CI) | |
| Total damage | 15 846 | 0.04 (0.02 to 0.05) |
| Erosion | 15 846 | 0.02 (0.006 to 0.02) |
| Joint space narrowing | 14 910 | 0.09 (0.07 to 0.11) |
| Total damage in completers (10 years of follow-up) | 9473 | 0.07 (0.05 to 0.09) |
| Total damage: baseline–year 2 | 14 452 | 0.01 (0.007 to 0.02) |
| Total damage: year 2–end of study | 14 167 | 0.02 (0.01 to 0.03) |
| Total damage in joints that were tender without swelling at least once | 8502 | 0.03 (0.01 to 0.04) |
| Total damage in joints that were never swollen | 6870 | 0.01 (0.0003 to 0.02) |
| Total damage, until first damage development | 15 840 | 0.01 (0.01 to 0.02) |
Joint damage (erosion and joint space narrowing) was defined as the percentage of the maximum possible damage score in that joint. Joint tenderness (in the absence of joint swelling) over time was defined as the percentage of available study visits at which joint tenderness, but no joint swelling, was observed. The analyses were performed in 473 patients. Since not all patients had radiographic assessments available at year two or later time points, the number of patients in the analysis for completers (n=282), short term (n=432) and long term (n=417) was lower.