Short report: correlates of functional disability with disease activity in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) prevalence increases with age and old people are special patient population. The recognition of functional disability related to RA could be challenging in elderly patients because aging itself and potential co-morbid disease may also cause functional disability. In this study, we aimed to look at the correlation between disease activity and functional disability in elderly RA patients. Elderly RA patients, ≥65 years old at their routine visits were included in the study. The composite 'disease activity score' in 28 joints (DAS-28) was used to determine disease activity groups. Health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) scores were calculated to describe the functional disability and compared across the disease activity groups. Two hundred and fifty-eight RA patients with the mean age of 71 ± 5 (65-90) and a total disease duration of 8.4 ± 8.5 (.5-50) years were recruited. The proportion of patients with high and moderate disease activity was 70%. HAQ scores were significantly correlated with disease activity (p < .05). Functional disability estimated by HAQ was correlated with disease activity in elderly patients with RA.

Favorable retention rates and safety of conventional anti-rheumatic drugs in older patients with rheumatoid arthritis

“…There are insufficient studies focusing on the validation of disease activity indicators in older patients with RA. [16] However, conditions such as the low levels of depression or high levels of osteoarthritis in older patients compared with younger patients means that the disease activity scales may not accurately indicate disease activity. [17] Certainly, the reason for the active disease in older patients could be related to avoidance of physicians or patients from aggressive treatment due to concerns about the adverse effects.…”

Younger Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Are as Dependent in Activities of Daily Living as Their Older Counterparts

“…Older adults are at a high risk for disability and in ammatory rheumatic disorders such as RA may further increase this risk. To date, only a few studies have focused on disability in older adults with RA [5,11,12]. We aimed to assess the rates of functional dependency in basic and instrumental ADL in younger and older patients with RA.…”