Patient characteristics at baseline and follow-up visits
| Characteristic | Baseline | 3 months | 6 months | 12 months | 24 months |
| N | 11 141 | 7537 | 7106 | 8590 | 7452 |
| Age at inclusion (years) | 62 (50 – 71) | 62 (50 – 71) | 62 (49 – 71) | 62 (49 – 71) | 62 (49 – 70) |
| Female, % | 68 | 68 | 69 | 68 | 69 |
| DAS28–mean (SD) | 4.83 (1.46) | 3.03 (1.34) | 2.98 (1.35) | 2.81 (1.31) | 2.72 (1.31) |
| DAS28 remission, % | 8 | 42 | 44 | 50 | 53 |
| DAS28 low disease activity, % | 14 | 59 | 61 | 67 | 68 |
| SDAI | 24.1 (15.7 – 34.4) | 7.9 (3.7 – 14.6) | 7.7 (3.5 – 14.5) | 6.7 (2.9 – 12.8) | 6.2 (2.4 – 11.8) |
| SDAI remission, % | 3 | 23 | 24 | 28 | 32 |
| SDAI low disease activity, % | 14 | 64 | 65 | 69 | 73 |
| ACR/EULAR Boolean remission, % | 3 | 21 | 21 | 24 | 26 |
| Inflammatory remission, % | 6 | 34 | 39 | 44 | 47 |
| CRP (mg/L) | 10 (4 – 26) | 4 (2 – 8) | 4 (1 – 7) | 4 (1 – 6) | 4 (1 – 6) |
| ESR (mm/hour) | 25 (13 – 43) | 13 (7 – 24) | 12 (6 – 23) | 12 (6 – 22) | 12 (6 – 21) |
| Swollen joint count (0–28) | 5 (2 – 10) | 1 (0 – 3) | 0 (0 – 2) | 0 (0 – 2) | 0 (0 – 1) |
| Tender joint count (0–28) | 5 (2 – 10) | 1 (0 – 3) | 1 (0 – 3) | 0 (0 – 3) | 0 (0 – 2) |
| PGA (VAS, 0–100 mm) | 50 (30 – 71) | 23 (8 – 46) | 25 (8 – 50) | 24 (7 – 48) | 23 (7 – 49) |
| Physician’s rating (0–4) | 2 (2 – 3) | 1 (0 – 1) | 1 (0 – 1) | 1 (0 – 1) | 1 (0 – 1) |
| Pain (VAS, 0–100 mm) | 54 (30 – 73) | 20 (6 – 43) | 23 (7 – 47) | 23 (7 – 47) | 22 (6 – 48) |
| Unacceptable pain, % | 66 | 27 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
| HAQ | 0.88 (0.50 – 1.38) | 0.38 (0.00 – 0.88) | 0.38 (0.00 – 0.88) | 0.38 (0.00 – 0.88) | 0.38 (0.00 – 0.88) |
| ΔTSJ | 0 (−1 – 2) | 0 (0 – 1) | 0 (0 – 1) | 0 (0 – 1) | 0 (0 – 1) |
| Fibromyalgic RA, % | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Values are stated as median (IQR) unless otherwise noted.
Inflammatory remission: Swollen joint count (28 joints)=0 and CRP<10 mg/L and normal ESR (<20 mm/hour for women <60 years, <30 mm/hour for women≥60 years, <10 mm/hour for men<60 years, <20 mm/hour for men ≥60 years).
Physician’s rating: The physician’s rating of disease activity on a 5-level scale (0: remission, 1: low, 2: moderate, 3: high, 4: extreme), unacceptable pain: VAS pain >40 mm, ΔTSJ: difference (Delta) between tender and swollen joint counts (0–28), fibromyalgic RA: ΔTSJ≥7.
ACR, American College of Rheumatology; CRP, C reactive protein; DAS28, Disease Activity Score of 28 joints; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; EULAR, European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology; HAQ, (Stanford) Health Assessment Questionnaire; PGA, patient global assessment.; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; SDAI, Simplified Disease Activity Index; TSJ, tender and the number of swollen joints; VAS, Visual Analogue Scale.