Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Sustained and Switching Treatments Using Biological and Targeted Synthetic Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs: A Multicenter, Observational Cross-Sectional Study for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Polyautoimmunity is one of the major clinical characteristics of autoimmune diseases (ADs). The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of ADs in spondyloarthropathies (SpAs) and vice versa. This was a two-phase cross-sectional study. First, we examined the presence of ADs in a cohort of patients with SpAs (N=148). Second, we searched for the presence of SpAs in a well-defined group of patients with ADs (N=1077) including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and Sjögren’s syndrome (SS). Among patients with SpAs, ankylosing spondylitis was observed in the majority of them (55.6%). There were two patients presenting with SS in the SpA group (1.4%) and 5 patients with autoimmune thyroiditis (3.5%). The global prevalence of ADs in SpAs was 4.86%. In the ADs group, there were 5 patients with SpAs (0.46%). Our results suggest a lack of association between SpAs and ADs. Accordingly, SpAs might correspond more to autoinflammatory diseases rather than to ADs.

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Adherence Rates and Associations with Nonadherence in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Using Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs

The Journal of Rheumatology ◽

10.3899/jrheum.081204 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 36 (10) ◽

pp. 2164-2170 ◽

Cited By ~ 71

Author(s):

BART J.F. van den BEMT ◽

FRANK H.J. van den HOOGEN ◽

BART BENRAAD ◽

YECHIEL A. HEKSTER ◽

PIET L.C.M. van RIEL ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Side Effects ◽

Clinical Characteristics ◽

Coping Styles ◽

Self Report ◽

Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs ◽

Antirheumatic Drugs ◽

Potential Risk Factors ◽

Disease Modifying

Objective.Nonadherence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) may result in unnecessarily high levels of disease activity and function loss. The aim of this descriptive study was to assess adherence rates with self-report measures in a large random population, and to identify potential risk factors for nonadherence.Methods.A randomly selected sample of 228 patients with RA using DMARD was invited for a standardised interview. For each medicine, the patients were asked about adherence, consumption and perceived (side) effects. After the interview, the patients received self-report questionnaires to assess adherence [Compliance Questionnaire on Rheumatology (CQR) and the Medication Adherence Scale (MARS)], coping, beliefs about medicines, satisfaction about medicine information, and physical functioning. Subsequently, associations between adherence and demographics, clinical characteristics, and patient attitudes were examined.Results.Depending on the instrument used, 68% (CQR) and 60% (MARS) of the patients were adherent to DMARD. Nonadherence was not associated with demographic and clinical characteristics, satisfaction about information, medication concerns, and coping styles. The disease duration, the number of perceived side-effects, and beliefs about the necessity of the medicine were weakly associated with adherence.Conclusion.In this large study with a random RA population, 32%–40% of the patients did not adhere to their DMARD prescription. As none of the possible risk factors was strongly related to adherence, no general risk factor seems to be powerful enough as a possible screening tool or target for adherence-improving interventions. This implies that nonadherence barriers should be assessed on an individual basis.

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Predictors for Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Cross-sectional Study

Proceedings for Annual Meeting of The Japanese Pharmacological Society ◽

10.1254/jpssuppl.wcp2018.0_po1-4-33 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol WCP2018 (0) ◽

pp. PO1-4-33

Author(s):

Tommy T Cheung ◽

Man Fung Tsoi ◽

Bernard My Cheung

Keyword(s):

Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Disease Modifying

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Determinants of adherence to disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in White British and South Asian patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a cross sectional study

BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽

10.1186/s12891-015-0831-8 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Kanta Kumar ◽

Karim Raza ◽

Peter Nightingale ◽

Robert Horne ◽

Sarah Chapman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽

South Asian ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Asian Patients ◽

Disease Modifying

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High Levels of Polypharmacy in Rheumatoid Arthritis—A Challenge Not Covered by Current Management Recommendations: Data From a Large Real-Life Study

Journal of Pharmacy Practice ◽

10.1177/0897190019869158 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 089719001986915 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ana Paula M. Gomides ◽

Cleandro P. Albuquerque ◽

Ana B.V. Santos ◽

Rodrigo B. C. Amorim ◽

Manoel B. Bértolo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽

Disease Activity ◽

Activity Index ◽

Real Life ◽

Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs ◽

Antirheumatic Drugs ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Rheumatic Arthritis ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Disease Modifying

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with high frequency of comorbidities and increased risk of polypharmacy. Although there is a great potential for complications, there is a gap in literature on polypharmacy in patients with rheumatic arthritis. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with polypharmacy in a population in a real-life setting. Methods: A cross-sectional multicenter study was conducted in Brazil. Patients underwent clinical evaluation and medical records analysis. Polypharmacy was considered as a dependent variable. To test independent variables, we used Poisson regression. Results: We evaluated 792 patients (89% female, median age 56.6 years). Median duration of disease was 12.7 years, 78.73% had a positive rheumatoid factor. The median of disease activity score-28 was 3.5 (disease with mild activity), median of the clinical disease activity index score was 9, and median of health assessment questionnaire-disability index was 0.875; 47% used corticosteroids, 9.1% used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, 90.9% used synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, 35.7% used biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). In total, 537 (67.9%) patients used 5 or more drugs. Polypharmacy showed a relationship with a number of comorbidities and use of specific drugs (corticosteroids, methotrexate, and biological DMARDs). Conclusion: We found a high prevalence of polypharmacy (67.9%) in RA. Solutions to management this problem should be stimulated.

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Clinical Characteristics in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Differences between Genders

The Scientific World JOURNAL ◽

10.1155/2019/8103812 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-6 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

M. Intriago ◽

G. Maldonado ◽

J. Cárdenas ◽

C. Ríos

Keyword(s):

Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽

Clinical Characteristics ◽

Clinical Manifestations ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Aggressive Disease ◽

Loss Of Appetite ◽

The City

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.

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