Incidence and duration of some infection types during a 1-year period†
| Infection type | HC (n=227) | HR (n=251) | eRA (n=257) | laRA (n=274) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No infection | 12.4 | 4* | 2** | 28.3** ## |
| Influenza-like symptoms | 51.3 (7) | 56.8 (7) | 52.4 (7) | 42.6# (7) |
| Herpes simplex blisters | 22.1 (7) | 39** (10*) | 33.3** (10*) | 17.4## (7.9) |
| Upper respiratory tract‡ | 32.0 (8.4) | 51.0*** (10) | 48.8***(12.1*) | 22.5** ## (7.7) |
| Chronic otitis, exacerbation | 0 | 2.8 (14) | 3.6** (14) | 0 (0) |
| Chronic bronchitis, exacerbation | 1.3 (30) | 4* (30) | 6.3** (30) | 1.9# (21) |
| Pneumonia | 0 | 0.4 (30) | 2.4** (21) | 0.4 (14) |
| Furunculosis, no fever | 1.8 (10.5) | 9.6** (14) | 11.9** (14) | 0.4## (10) |
| Urinary tract infection | 2.2 (10) | 5* (10) | 6.7** (14) | 0.8## (7##) |
| High fever of uncertain origin | 0 | 3.2** (22) | 2* (26) | 0# (0) |
| Hospitalised infections | 0 | 0.4## (30) | 7.1** (20) | 0.4## (14) |
*p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, as compared with HC; #p<0.05, ##p<0.01, as compared with eRA.
†Incidence as % of the individuals in the group with the particular infection (case duration as days, mean) is shown.
‡Including acute tonsillitis, otitis and sinusitis.
eRA, early RA patients (<0.5 years RA duration); HC, healthy controls (women with no RA among close relatives); HR, healthy first-degree female relatives of RA patients; laRA, late RA patients (>3 years RA duration); RA, rheumatoid arthritis.