Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder that affects human joints. The disease also can destroy others body systems, including skin, eyes, lungs, blood vessels, and heart. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effectiveness of RA concerning disease activity and the rate of remission, quality of life, and employment as measured by the disease activity score (DAS 28).
Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted during the period from October to November 2018. Two RA patient cohorts were created based on the physician-reported DAS28; adequately controlled (DAS28 ≤ 3.2) and inadequately controlled (DAS28 >3.2). We used descriptive statistics to compare the two groups. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version. 22). A p-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: A quarter (24.5%) of the inadequately controlled cohort were currently in remission less than 70% of those with adequately controlled RA. Also, 31% of the inadequately controlled group had mild RA which was less than those with adequately controlled RA (83.3%; p = 0.001) and fewer patients were found to be with stable disease status (38% vs 65%; p = 0.001). Patients in the inadequately controlled cohort had a lower quality of life, employment (0.49 vs 0.72; p = 0.001), and had higher rates of work impairment(37 vs 18.4; p = 0.04).
Conclusion: Inadequately controlled RA patients (DAS28 > 3.2) were in less remission than those with inadequately controlled RA (DAS28 ≤ 3.2) and there were fewer patients with stable disease status. Patients in the inadequately controlled group had a lower quality of life and employment compared to the adequately controlled cohort who had higher rates of work impairment.
Key words: Rheumatoid arthritis, disease activity, anti-rheumatic drugs.
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