Comorbidities of rheumatoid arthritis: Results from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of comorbidities in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with the non-RA population. The 2010–2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), which assesses the general health status of populations in South Korea using interviews and basic health assessment, was analyzed retrospectively. Weighted prevalence and odds ratio (OR) of comorbidities were analyzed in patients with RA compared with the non-RA population. The overall weighted (n = 37,453,158) prevalence of RA was 1.5%. Patients with RA were older and more female predominant than subjects without RA. The prevalence of living in an urban area, college graduation, alcohol consumption and smoking was lower in patients with RA than non-RA. Patients with RA had more comorbidities including hypertension, dyslipidemia, myocardial infarction (MI) or angina, stoke, osteoarthritis, lung cancer, colon cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis, asthma, diabetes, depression, thyroid disease and chronic kidney disease. After adjusting socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics, RA was associated with an increased prevalence of MI or angina (OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.17–2.96, p = 0.009), pulmonary TB (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.24–3.09, p = 0.004), asthma (OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.05–3.71, p = 0.036), thyroid disease (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.05–2.77), depression (OR 2.38, 95% CI 1.47–3.85, p < 0.001) and hepatitis B (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.15–4.80, p = 0.020) compared with the non-RA population. Prevalence of solid cancer was not significantly associated with RA after adjustment.

Comparative Risk of Cardiovascular Outcomes Between Topical and Oral Nonselective NSAIDs in Taiwanese Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

“…It is possible that we underestimated the prevalence of cardiovascular disease history and other comorbidities, especially MI and stroke, leading to diminishing the effectiveness of propensity scoring to control for potential confounding. However, the rates observed in our study were within the range of published Asian RA literature . A recently published study also found that using all available data to capture baseline covariates may have higher sensitivity, but did not meaningfully change the overall treatment effect estimates .…”

“…However, the rates observed in our study were within the range of published Asian RA literature. 27,28 A recently published study also found that using all available data to capture baseline covariates may have higher sensitivity, but did not meaningfully change the overall treatment effect estimates. 29 Third, the mean followup duration in the topical nonselective NSAID group was %2 months, reflecting the short-term treatment pattern of topical NSAIDs in the real-life setting.…”

Systematic Review of Recommendations on the Use of Disease‐Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Cancer

“…Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a high prevalence of comorbidities, which are often suboptimally managed (1)(2)(3)(4). Among them, a person diagnosed with RA is more likely than the general population to have a history of cancer (5,6).…”

Relationship of rheumatoid arthritis and coronary artery disease in the Korean population: a nationwide cross-sectional study

“…Previous studies reported that RA directly affected the coronary arteries and raised the risk of CVD by 2-fold [29,30]. A recent study investigating co-morbidities in patients with RA suggested that the prevalence of CAD might be increased in Korean patients with RA [31]. In our study, we assessed and compared the risks of CAD on RA, using propensity-score matching between patients with RA and without RA.…”