Comparing Five Year Out-Come in Two Cohorts of Patients with Early Rheumatoid Arthritis – A BARFOT Study

Abstract

Abstract:The objective of the study was to compare disease characteristics over the first 5 years of disease in patients with RA, with disease onset in 1990s and 2000s, respectively.Methods: All 2235 patients with early RA (disease duration ≤12 months) were recruited from the BARFOT prospective observational study. These patients were divided into group 1 included 1992 to 1999 (N=1084, 66% women) and group 2 included 2000 to 2006 (N=1151, 69% women). Disease Activity Score (DAS28), VAS pain and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) were assessed during 5 years. Remission was defined as DAS28 <2.6.Results: At inclusion, both women and men in group 2 had higher mean DAS28 (SD) than group 1, 5.42 (1.22) vs 5.26 (1.19), p=0.004 and 5.28 (1.22) vs 5.00 (1.27), p=0.004, respectively, mainly dependant on pain and not on inflammatory related measures. Over time DAS28 decreased and was in both genders, from 6 months to the 5-year follow-up, significantly lower in group 2. At 5-year, both women and men in group 2 had higher rate of remission than women and men in group 1. However, despite reduction of VAS pain and HAQ there were no differences in pain and HAQ between groups at any time point. Conclusion:Patients included in the 2000s achieved higher frequency of remission at the 5 year follow-up compared with those included in the 1990s, suggested to reflect the more active medical treatment. Interestingly, however, improvement in pain and HAQ did not differ between the two patient cohorts.

Disease burden measured by patient-reported outcomes: does psoriatic arthritis feel worse than rheumatoid arthritis? A cross-sectional nationwide study

“…Especially, the HAQ-scores were notably worse in women >70 years (0.9 for PsA and 0.9 for RA) than in women <50 years (0.38 and 0.13) and worse also in men >70 years (0.6 and 0.4) compared to younger male patients (0.1 and 0 in males <50 years old). Our observations are in line with previous research for both PsA and RA and for the general population (11,12). The age-specific HAQ was similar in women with RA, compared to a Swedish study from 2021, as it showed a median HAQ of 0.4-0.6 for women younger than 70 and 0.9 for women over 70, whereas the scores were 0.4-0.6 and 0.9 for women in the same age groups in our study.…”

Physical activity in established rheumatoid arthritis and variables associated with maintenance of physical activity over a seven-year period – a longitudinal observational study

“…All patients fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for classification of RA [19] and had a disease duration of ≤12 months. The patients were treated with DMARDs in accordance with the recommended treatment strategy in Sweden, as described in earlier studies [20]. The patients were assessed according to a structured protocol at inclusion and after 3, 6, 12, 24, 60, 96, and 180 months.…”

Disease activity trajectories in rheumatoid arthritis: a tool for prediction of outcome

“…For the BARFOT patients, anti-CCP antibodies were analysed in stored serum from inclusion. Additional details are given elsewhere (23,24). Patient characteristics are shown in Table 1.…”