Grated values, calculated from the area under the curve for each patient during the two-year follow-up [19]. Comparisons between the radiographic progression group and non-progression group were performed by the independent t-test and the Mann?Whitney test, and the x2 test was used for means, medians, and proportions. Correlations were performed by Spearman correlation analysis. To evaluate effects on cholesterol levels in serially monitored inflammatory markers, repeated measures one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to analyze for significant and independent contributions to radiographic progression. We used radiographic progression events (any increase in SvdH score 4) as the outcome after determining the presence of radiographic progression at two years. Multivariate models were constructed that included all covariates with associations from univariate models with a P-value #0.20. Cumulative probability plots were used to display radiographic progression across patients with different baseline levels of adipokines. Receiver Vasopressin site operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed to find the optimal cut-off levels for adiponectin and leptin to discriminate between high and low. High leptin and high adiponectin were defined when serum leptin levels were 16.888 ng/ml and serum adiponectin levels were 1.682 mg/ml. All reported P-values are two-tailed, with a Pvalue of 0.05 indicating statistical significance. The sample size was calculated to achieve a power of 80 via the following hypotheses: 1) a prevalence of at least 0.20 of radiographic progression in the highest tertile group of time-integrated LDL cholesterol; and 2) an odds ratio of 2.0 associated with the studied variable for the outcome (a = 0.05). Under these suppositions, the calculated total sample size was 221. The odds ratio was identifiedRadiographic AssessmentRadiographs of the hands and feet were taken at baseline and annually thereafter. The radiographic severity was scored in chronologic order for erosions and joint space narrowing according to the Sharp/van der Heijde (SvdH) method [23] and was determined by two board-certified physicians who were blinded to each patient’s identity and clinical status. The interobserver variability described by the interclass correlation coefficient was 0.93. Joint space narrowing and erosion scoresDyslipidemia and Radiographic Progression in RAby logistic regression. Analyses were performed with the use of SAS software, version 9.2 (SAS Institute Inc., NC, USA).Results Baseline CharacteristicsPlasma levels of cholesterol were measured in 242 patients with RA. The mean age was 53.8 years, and the median disease duration was 6 years (Table S1). One hundred eighty-nine (78.1 ) patients were positive for ACPA, and the median SvdH score was 31 [IQR:13-78]. One hundred eighty-seven patients (77.3 ) received Methionine enkephalin methotrexate, 155 (64.0 ) received hydroxychloroquine, 26 (10.7 ) received anti-TNF-a therapy, and 187 (77.3 ) patients were treated with a low dose of prednisolone (#10 mg/day). Other characteristics of the RA patients are shown in Table S1. As reported previously [24?6], when we compared plasma lipid levels between RA patients and age- and gendermatched healthy controls, LDL cholesterol levels and triglyceride levels were increased, but HDL cholesterol levels were decreased in RA patients (Figure S1).Dyslipidemia and RA Disease ActivitySince lipid levels are influenced by.Grated values, calculated from the area under the curve for each patient during the two-year follow-up [19]. Comparisons between the radiographic progression group and non-progression group were performed by the independent t-test and the Mann?Whitney test, and the x2 test was used for means, medians, and proportions. Correlations were performed by Spearman correlation analysis. To evaluate effects on cholesterol levels in serially monitored inflammatory markers, repeated measures one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to analyze for significant and independent contributions to radiographic progression. We used radiographic progression events (any increase in SvdH score 4) as the outcome after determining the presence of radiographic progression at two years. Multivariate models were constructed that included all covariates with associations from univariate models with a P-value #0.20. Cumulative probability plots were used to display radiographic progression across patients with different baseline levels of adipokines. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed to find the optimal cut-off levels for adiponectin and leptin to discriminate between high and low. High leptin and high adiponectin were defined when serum leptin levels were 16.888 ng/ml and serum adiponectin levels were 1.682 mg/ml. All reported P-values are two-tailed, with a Pvalue of 0.05 indicating statistical significance. The sample size was calculated to achieve a power of 80 via the following hypotheses: 1) a prevalence of at least 0.20 of radiographic progression in the highest tertile group of time-integrated LDL cholesterol; and 2) an odds ratio of 2.0 associated with the studied variable for the outcome (a = 0.05). Under these suppositions, the calculated total sample size was 221. The odds ratio was identifiedRadiographic AssessmentRadiographs of the hands and feet were taken at baseline and annually thereafter. The radiographic severity was scored in chronologic order for erosions and joint space narrowing according to the Sharp/van der Heijde (SvdH) method [23] and was determined by two board-certified physicians who were blinded to each patient’s identity and clinical status. The interobserver variability described by the interclass correlation coefficient was 0.93. Joint space narrowing and erosion scoresDyslipidemia and Radiographic Progression in RAby logistic regression. Analyses were performed with the use of SAS software, version 9.2 (SAS Institute Inc., NC, USA).Results Baseline CharacteristicsPlasma levels of cholesterol were measured in 242 patients with RA. The mean age was 53.8 years, and the median disease duration was 6 years (Table S1). One hundred eighty-nine (78.1 ) patients were positive for ACPA, and the median SvdH score was 31 [IQR:13-78]. One hundred eighty-seven patients (77.3 ) received methotrexate, 155 (64.0 ) received hydroxychloroquine, 26 (10.7 ) received anti-TNF-a therapy, and 187 (77.3 ) patients were treated with a low dose of prednisolone (#10 mg/day). Other characteristics of the RA patients are shown in Table S1. As reported previously [24?6], when we compared plasma lipid levels between RA patients and age- and gendermatched healthy controls, LDL cholesterol levels and triglyceride levels were increased, but HDL cholesterol levels were decreased in RA patients (Figure S1).Dyslipidemia and RA Disease ActivitySince lipid levels are influenced by.