Obesity Represents a Persisting Health Issue in Axial Spondyloarthritis, Particularly Affecting Socially Disadvantaged Patients

Abstract

ObjectiveObesity is an important comorbidity in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). However, the prevalence of obesity in axSpA compared with the general population and associated socioeconomic factors remain unknown.MethodsThis repeated cross-sectional study compared BMI groups of patients with axSpA to the Swiss population at three time points (2007, 2012 and 2017). BMI categories were compared by different age, sex, and education categories using the Chi-Squared Goodness of Fit test. Unpaired, one-sided t-tests were used to compare the BMI in axSpA patients between the different time points.ResultsCompared to the general population, axSpA patients had a higher proportion of overweight and obese: 18.9% of all axSpA patients were obese, compared to 11.3% of the Swiss population in 2017. Comparison of BMI groups within sex, age and education groups consistently showed a trend towards higher rates of overweight and obesity in axSpA. Furthermore, axSpA patients, especially females, showed a trend of increasing BMI over the studied 10 years. At every time point, overweight and obese patients were significantly more likely to be male, were older and had higher disease activity than patients with normal weight. Obesity was associated with a deprived socioeconomic status as indicated by a higher proportion of patients with manual labor jobs and lower levels of education.ConclusionThe prevalence of obesity was significantly higher among patients with axSpA compared to the Swiss population, with socially disadvantaged individuals being the most affected. There is an urgent need to initiate prevention strategies for obesity in axSpA patients.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity, and associated risk factors in an axial spondyloarthritis cohort

“…+380662447209 Full list of authors' information is available at the end of the article. tion of obese patients (based on BMI) was 29.6 % in the Irish cohort (n = 753) [7], 28.5 % in the Korean cohort (n = 789) [4], 26 % in the Norwegian cohort (n = 509) [1], 22 % - in the Groningen Leeuwarden cohort (n = 461) [5], and 18.9 % - in the Swiss cohort [6]. Moreover, the cen tral form of obesity (assessed by the waisttohip ratio) was registered even higher -41.3 %, reaching a maximum in the female subgroup -71.6 % [7].…”

“…Although their data regarding correlation between higher BMI and activity of the pathological process (Bath ankylo sing spondylitis disease assessment index (BASDAI), Bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index (BASFI), ankylo sing spondylitis disease activity score (ASDAS), Creactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) etс.) are still inconclusive [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Most of them reported a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity in axSpA cohorts com pared to the general population.…”