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BMI, smoking are greatest predictors of failure to achieve remission in patients with RA
High or low BMI and active smoking were the two factors most likely to hinder full remission in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to recently presented research.
Researchers studied 944 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) enrolled in the Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort (CATCH) study with available BMI data. Patients’ BMI was classified according to WHO criteria as underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese. The patients had a mean age of 52.75 years; 72% of the patients were women, and 79% were white. The average disease duration was 6.3 months. Twenty-four percent of the patients were classified as obese, and 28% were overweight; however, by using proposed, sex-specific RA criteria, 53% of the women and 80% of the men would be considered obese, according to the researchers. Active smoking was reported by 17% of patients.
The odds of achieving and sustaining remission was significantly lower for patients who were overweight, underweight or who smoked after adjusting the model for age, sex, race, early use of methotrexate, and pain and disability at baseline.
“Normal body weight and non-smoking status were independent predictors of achieving sustained remission after controlling for sociodemographic, disease and treatment characteristics,” the researchers wrote. “BMI and smoking should be considered amongst the modifiable lifestyle factors to improve likelihood of optimizing treatment and achieving sustained remission in early RA.” – by Shirley Pulawski
Reference:
Goodman SM, et al. Paper #OP0178. Presented at: European League Against Rheumatism Annual European Congress of Rheumatology; June 10-13, 2015; Rome.
Disclosure: Goodman reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.