Characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis patients and healthy controls.

BMI: body mass index; HDL: high-density lipoprotein; LDL: low-density lipoprotein; TG: triglycerides; CRP: C-reative protein; NSAIDs: non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs; SD: standard deviation; IQR: interquartile range. †No patient with rheumatoid arthritis received azathioprine treatment at the time of enrolment to the study. *P<0.05 compared to 3rd (>13 mg/L) CRP tertile. ‡P<0.05 compared to 1st (≤5 mg/L) CRP tertile. §distribution of smoking in RA patients P = 0.29 (Fisher's exact test). Rheumatoid arthritis patients are grouped into tertile of C-reactive protein.