Clinical characteristics of patients with RA with and without cognitive impairment according to the MoCA questionnaire
| Variable | RA with cognitive impairment n=42 | RA without cognitive impairment n=28 | P value |
| Epidemiological characteristics | |||
| Female sex, n (%) | 35 (83.3) | 22 (78.6) | 0.616 |
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 58.7 (12.4) | 52.5 (11.1) | 0.037 |
| Caucasian race, n (%) | 42 (100.0) | 28 (100.0) | 1.000 |
| Educational level: | 0.004 | ||
| Primary, n (%) | 15 (35.7) | 5 (17.9) | |
| Non-university higher, n (%) | 23 (54.8) | 11 (39.3) | |
| University, n (%) | 4 (9.5) | 12 (42.9) | |
| Clinical characteristics | |||
| Dyslipidaemia, n (%) | 13 (31.0) | 3 (10.7) | 0.048 |
| Arterial hypertension, n (%) | 14 (33.3) | 4 (14.3) | 0.054 |
| Smoking | 0.357 | ||
| Non-smoker, n (%) | 16 (38.1) | 15 (53.6) | |
| Ex-smoker, n (%) | 15 (35.7) | 6 (21.4) | |
| Smoker, n (%) | 11 (26.2) | 7 (25.0) | |
| Obesity (BMI≥30), n (%) | 16 (38.1) | 4 (14.3) | 0.031 |
| BMI, mean (SD) | 28.2 (4.4) | 26.0 (4.1) | 0.047 |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 5 (11.9) | 3 (10.7) | 0.878 |
| Disease duration, median (IQR), months | 83.6 (29.0–193.2) | 71.6 (39.3–177.3) | 0.874 |
| Diagnostic delay, median (IQR) months | 6.9 (4.0–13.0) | 6.0 (3.8–9.9) | 0.574 |
| Erosions, n (%) | 21 (50.0) | 13 (46.4) | 0.760 |
| RF positive (>10 U/mL), n (%) | 36 (85.7) | 24 (85.7) | 1.000 |
| ACPA positive (>20 U/mL), n (%) | 33 (78.6) | 23 (82.1) | 0.714 |
| ACPA elevated>340 U/mL, n (%) | 14 (33.3) | 7 (25.0) | 0.465 |
| DAS28-CRP, mean (SD) | 5.0 (1.0) | 4.5 (1.2) | 0.066 |
| Average DAS28-CRP, mean (SD) | 3.9 (0.9) | 3.3 (0.9) | 0.021 |
| PGA, median (IQR) | 70.0 (60.0–90.0) | 70.0 (50.0–87.5) | 0.247 |
| VAS pain, median (IQR) | 80.0 (60.0–90.0) | 70.0 (50.0–80.0) | 0.284 |
| Physician’s Global Assessment, median (IQR) | 70.0 (67.5–80.0) | 70.0 (52.5–80.0) | 0.252 |
| HAQ, mean (SD) | 1.4 (0.7) | 1.1 (0.5) | 0.053 |
| Average HAQ, mean (SD) | 1.1 (0.6) | 0.9 (0.4) | 0.076 |
| CRP, mg/L, mean (SD) | 18.0 (10.0) | 9.9 (7.7) | 0.023 |
| Average CRP, mg/dL, mean (SD) | 12.8 (11.3) | 7.8 (4.5) | 0.014 |
| IL-6, pg/mL, median (IQR) | 7.5 (3.1–18.1) | 2.5 (1.3–11.3) | 0.034 |
| IL-1β, pg/mL, median (IQR) | 9.0 (3.6–15.0) | 6.3 (2.2–11.4) | 0.070 |
| Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mean (SD) | 28.3 (16.0) | 25.5 (20.0) | 0.530 |
| HADS (depression), mean (SD) | 5.9 (3.6) | 4.6 (2.7) | 0.162 |
| Depression (HADS>11), n (%) | 9 (21.4) | 0 (0.0) | 0.009 |
| HADS (anxiety), mean (SD) | 8.1 (4.4) | 6.9 (3.7) | 0.267 |
| Anxiety (HADS>11), n (%) | 11 (26.2) | 4 (14.3) | 0.187 |
| Treatment | |||
| Synthetic DMARDs, n (%) | 41 (97.6) | 25 (89.3) | 0.172 |
| Methotrexate, n (%) | 29 (69.0) | 16 (57.1) | 0.309 |
| Hydroxychloroquine, n (%) | 8 (19.0) | 3 (10.7) | 0.348 |
| Leflunomide, n (%) | 6 (14.3) | 5 (17.9) | 0.688 |
| Sulfasalazine, n (%) | 9 (21.4) | 10 (35.7) | 0.188 |
| Corticosteroids, median (IQR) | 5.0 (2.5–7.5) | 5.0 (0.0–5.0) | 0.157 |
| Corticosteroids, n (%) | 34 (81.0) | 18 (64.3) | 0.118 |
ACPA, anti-citrullinated peptide antibody; BMI, body mass index; CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS28, 28-joint Disease Activity Score; DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire; IL, interleukin; PGA, Patient Global Assessment; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; RF, rheumatoid factor; VAS, Visual Analogue Scale.