Characteristics of the study population
| CAD/non-IRD (n=52) | CAD/IRD (n=67) | P value* | |
| Age, years | 68±10 | 67±10 | 0.684 |
| Men | 34 (65.4%) | 42 (62.7%) | 0.761 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 25.7±3.3 | 25.5±4.3 | 0.822 |
| Medical history | |||
| History of MI | 23 (44.2%) | 38 (56.7%) | 0.177 |
| ACS | 10 (19.2%) | 19 (28.4%) | 0.005 |
| Family history of CAD | 42 (80.8%) | 49 (74.2%) | 0.402 |
| Diabetes | 3 (5.8%) | 2 (3.2%) | 0.509 |
| Hypertension | 30 (57.7%) | 40 (60.6%) | 0.749 |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 46 (88.5%) | 56 (83.6%) | 0.691 |
| Previous smoker | 25 (48.1%) | 26 (38.8%) | 0.311 |
| Current smoker | 7 (13.5%) | 15 (22.4%) | 0.213 |
| Biochemistry | |||
| Cholesterol, mmol/L | 4.91±1.17 | 4.92±1.28 | 0.966 |
| HDL, mmol/L | 1.21±0.32 | 1.25±0.36 | 0.556 |
| LDL, mmol/L | 3.18±0.96 | 3.12±1.05 | 0.761 |
| TG, mmol/L | 1.53±0.79 | 1.61±0.71 | 0.604 |
| PAI-1, ng/mL | 19.1 (13.4, 26.8) | 20.1 (13.5, 28.8) | 0.600 |
| C reactive protein, mg/L | 2.3 (1.2,4.4) | 5.2 (2.3,14.0) | <0.001 |
| Medication | |||
| Oral glucocorticoids | 0 (0%) | 27 (40.3%) | <0.001 |
| DMARDS | 0 (0%) | 22 (33.3%) | <0.001 |
| COX2 inhibitors | 0 (0%) | 11 (16.4%) | <0.001 |
| NSAID | 0 (0%) | 9 (13.4%) | <0.001 |
| Lipid lowering drugs | 42 (80.8%) | 50 (75.8%) | 0.514 |
| Acetylsalisylic acid | 47 (90.4%) | 57 (85.1%) | 0.387 |
| Beta-blockers | 42 (80.8%) | 50 (74.6%) | 0.427 |
| ACE inhibitors | 18 (34.6%) | 21 (31.3%) | 0.706 |
| Duration of IRD, months | – | 168 (73,260) |
Data are presented as n (%), mean ±SD or median (25th, 75th percentile) depending on variable type and distribution.
*P value from Student’s t-test, Mann-Whitney U test or Χ2 test depending on type and distribution of data.
ACS, acute coronary syndrome; CAD, coronary artery disease; COX2, cyclooxygenase 2; DMARDS, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; IRD, inflammatory rheumatic disease; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; MI, myocardial infarction; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; PAI-1, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1; TG, triglycerides.