Objective. To compare the clinical characteristics of a group of men and women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and determine the differences between genders. Materials and Methods. A descriptive and comparative cross-sectional study was developed with a group of 50 men and a control group of 50 women with RA, from a rheumatology center in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Data collected included clinical manifestations, comorbidities, treatment, and disease activity. Clinical and activity differences between sexes were analyzed. Results. Women were more devoted to housework (66%), while men consumed more tobacco (34%) and alcohol (38%). Fatigue (60%), loss of appetite (54%), and weight loss (44%) were more common in women. No differences were found in comorbidities or treatment. Women had higher values of DAS-28 (3.4 vs 2.5), HAQ-DI (1.1 vs 0.4), ESR (33.0 vs 23.2), painful joints (8 vs 3), swollen joints (6 vs 2), and overall physician assessment (3 vs 2). Conclusion. The results are similar to other publications that establish that women have a more aggressive disease with greater activity of the disease and disability.

Introduction. An intimate relationship between osteoporosis and sarcopenia has been established. At present, there are few epidemiological studies about osteosarcopenia due to the recent use of this term, especially in Latin America. Objective. To study the association between osteoporosis and sarcopenia and determine the prevalence of osteosarcopenia in patients who attended a rheumatology center in Ecuador. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a population of patients who had a densitometric study. The diagnosis of sarcopenia was determined by the DXA standard gold test, screening, and conventional methods (bioimpedance, anthropometric measurements, SARC-F, muscle function, and gait test). Results. A total of 92 patients were studied. The median age was 66 ± 10, 90% females. Using the criteria of SMI, 65% had sarcopenia of which 9% had only sarcopenia and 56% had osteosarcopenia; 22% had only osteopenia/osteoporosis; and 13% none of these conditions. The prevalence of sarcopenia according to handgrip strength was 60%, gait speed 45%, and SARC-F score 40%. The prevalence of osteosarcopenia according to handgrip strength was 51%, gait speed 34%, and SARC-F score 32%. Osteoporosis was associated with a higher prevalence of sarcopenia using the criteria of SMI since 40% had sarcopenia in the normal DXA group, 64% in the osteopenia group, and 76% in the osteoporosis group (p=0.017). Of the women, 69% had sarcopenia compared to 33% of the men (p=0.034). The BMI was lower in the group with sarcopenia (25.1 ± 4.1 kg/m2) compared to the group without sarcopenia (29.4 ± 4.1 kg/m2, p<0.001). Patients with osteosarcopenia and sarcopenia had lower BMI, handgrip strength, ASM, SMI, and total-body skeletal muscle mass than those with osteopenia/osteoporosis or normal patients. Conclusion. 65% of the studied population had sarcopenia. It is clear that the prevalence of sarcopenia is higher in patients with greater loss of bone mass. Identifying pathways that affect both bone and muscle could facilitate the development of treatments that simultaneously improve osteoporosis and sarcopenia.

Purpose To evaluate quality of life in patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and identify the factors that negatively affect it. Methods This was a cross-sectional study with patients with established RA from a rheumatology center in Ecuador. The RA Quality of Life (RAQoL) questionnaire was used to assess QoL and the Health Assessment Questionnaire — disability index (HAQ-DI) questionnaire for functional capacity. In addition, demographics, clinical characteristics, and markers of disease activity were included. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22. Results Of 186 patients, 89.8% were women, with a mean age of 51 years, 86.6% had symmetrical polyarticular involvement, 40.3% erosions, 46.8% morning stiffness, 46.8% xerophthalmia, and 39.2% fatigue. Depression was the most frequent comorbidity — 42.5%. The mean HAQ-DI score was 0.8, and 26.9% had functional disability. The mean RAQoL score was 7.2. Xerophthalmia, xerostomia, fatigue, morning stiffness, and depression were related to higher scores in the RAQoL ( p <0.05). The mean RAQoL was higher in patients with more disease activity and comorbidities ( p <0.05). Likewise, patients with functional disability had a mean RAQoL score of 15.6 versus 4.1 in patients without disability ( p <0.05). There were positive correlations between RAQoL and ESR, CRP, painful-joint count, swollen-joint count, VAS of pain, and physician assessment ( p <0.05). Conclusion QoL is severely affected in patients with RA. Depression, fatigue, morning stiffness, pain, high disease activity, and disability have a negative effect on QoL in RA. Likewise, patients with more comorbidities and extraarticular manifestations show worse QoL.

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