Perhaps the underlying processes of early RA, certain lifestyle differences, the higher prevalence of obesity in the women, hormonal factors, or differences in metabolic risk factor [14, 15, 23] might (partly) explain the higher baseline CRP levels in men in this study or the diminishing association between sex and CRP after 1 year. The gene discussed is CRP; the disease is obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.