CRP and rheumatoid arthritis: At the RA stage, the 144 pre-RA individuals presented an elevated disease activity score (DAS28-ESR, median = 5.1), a functional impact of the disease (HAQ, median = 1.7), inflammation (ESR ≥ 30 mm/h, 58.2%; and CRP ≥ 5 mg/L, 68.3%), and the detection of ACPA (≥20 U/mL, 75.6%) and/or RF (≥14 IU/mL, 71.6%).