Table 2: Patients characteristics at baseline and disease scores comparison.
| Variables (n = 74) | |||
| Age, years (mean ± SD) | 49.7 ± 15.5 | DAS28 scores (mean ± SD) | |
| Female gender, n (%) | 63 (85.1) | Using 3 variables (TJC, SJC, ESR/CRP) | |
| Geographical location, n (%) | DAS28-ESR-3 | 5.5 ± 0.7 | |
| Guinea | 64 (86.5) | DAS28-CRP-3 | 4.9 ± 0.6 |
| Cameroon | 10 (13.5) | Paired t-test, p value* | < 0.0001 |
| Standard (TJC, SJC, ESR/CRP, VAS) | |||
| Disease duration, months (median, IQR)§ | 36 (12-90) | DAS28-ESR | 5.8 ± 0.8 |
| RF-positive, n (%)¶ | 51 (78.5) | DAS28-CRP | 5.3 ± 0.7 |
| ACPA-positive, n (%)¶ | 31 (81.6) | Paired t-test, p value* | < 0.0001 |
| TJC-28 (mean ± SD) | 11.0 ± 4.1 | Tamhane, et al. and DAS28-ESR | |
| SJC-28 (mean ± SD) | 3.5 ± 1.9 | DAS28-ESR | 5.8 ± 0.8 |
| Patient global assessment (VAS, 0 -100 mm) | 64.4 ± 19.1 | Adjusted† DAS28-CRP | 5.9 ± 0.6 |
| ESR, mm/h (median, IQR) | 45.0 (32.0-68.0) | Paired t-test, p value* | 0.7563 |
| CRP, mg/dl (median, IQR) | 20.5 (12.0-33.4) | Study data-specific and DAS28-ESR | |
| DAS28-ESR | 5.8 ± 0.8 | ||
| Adjusted† DAS28-CRP | 5.8 ± 0.6 | ||
| Paired t-test, p value* | 0.9992 |
*: p value for comparing means; †: Adjusted for age and sex; §: Data were missing for 42 patients from Senegal; ¶: Data were missing for 9 and 38 patients respectively for RF and ACPA; DAS: Disease Activity Score; ESR: Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate; CRP: C-Reactive Protein; TJC: 28 Tender Joint Count; SJC: 28 Swollen Joint Count; VAS: Visual Analog Scale, self-assessed patient global assessment of disease activity on a VAS of 0 to 100 mm; SD: Standard Deviation; IQR: Inter Quartile Range.