Research round-up: Catch up on top stories for Rheumatoid Awareness Day

Just as the groundhog reappears each year to make its forecast, Feb. 2 also brings a renewed focus on rheumatoid arthritis and its impact on the daily lives of millions of Americans.

This inflammatory type of arthritis causes chronic joint pain affecting one in four U.S. adults, predominantly women. And despite immense advances in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, prognosis remains largely dependent on recognizing and treating it aggressively and early, making awareness imperative.

Since 2013, Feb. 2 has been dedicated to recognition of the realities of living with the condition and what can be done to discover more about it.

In observance of Rheumatoid Awareness Day, Healio has assembled its top coverage of the newest data and latest perspectives on this potentially devastating autoimmune disorder.

Machine learning predicts osteoporosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Machine learning algorithms can be effective in predicting osteoporosis among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, as well as identifying new predictive factors, according to data published in Nature Scientific Reports.

“Recently, machine learning (ML) algorithms have been extensively applied to various clinical practices, including disease classification, risk prediction, and treatment response,” Chaewon Lee, of Kangwon National University, in Chuncheon, South Korea, and colleagues wrote. “Although studies on the prediction of osteoporosis or fractures using ML models in the general population have been conducted, those on patients with RA are lacking.” Read more.

Work disability due to inflammatory arthritis greater among lower-paid, manual jobs

People who work lower-paid, manual-labor jobs are more likely to discontinue employment in the first 5 years after an early inflammatory arthritis diagnosis, vs. those who work in managerial or professional capacities, according to data.

“Many studies in this field have reported proportions of patients in work vs. not in work, failing to factor in the number of hours worked, nature of employment, and/or flexibility of working arrangements,” Katie Bechman, MD, of King’s College London, and colleagues wrote in Rheumatology. “Data are needed in order to understand the risk factors for poor work outcomes including gender, clinical disease markers and type of employment, and whether successful treatment of inflammatory arthritis improves the ability to work in the short and longer term.” Read more.

Non-TNF inhibitors have higher retention rates in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis are increasingly receiving non-TNF inhibitors, which additionally demonstrate higher retention rates, compared with other biologics, according to data published in Nature Scientific Reports.

“Although each biologic has its own characteristics, there are no clear criteria for selecting the one to use, and the choice depends on the decision of the clinician,” Kenji Takami and Shigeyoshi Tsuji, both of Nippon Life Hospital, in Osaka, Japan, wrote. “Since the ORAL Surveillance [study] had been reported, the use of biologics has been considered over JAK inhibitors, and it is expected that there will be increasing cases concerned [with] the choice of biologics.” Read more.

Therapy choice in rheumatoid arthritis does not impact serious infection risk

Among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the chosen course of therapy does not have an impact on the risk for developing a serious infection, according to data published in Rheumatology.

“When evaluating adverse effects of RA treatments, including serious infections, conclusions from randomized controlled trials may be limited because they are generally underpowered for such outcomes with small sample sizes and short study duration,” Kim Lauper, MD, of Geneva University Hospitals, in Switzerland, and colleagues wrote. “Additionally, the population is very selected and often does not represent the patients treated in routine clinical care. Read more.

Hospitalization, mortality risks in RA-ILD similar for TNF inhibitors, non-TNF agents

TNF inhibitors demonstrate comparable risks for hospitalization and death vs. non-TNF agents in patients with rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease, according to data presented at ACR Convergence 2023.

“People with RA-ILD can have a difficult disease course, with a median survival of 4 to 8 years,” Bryant England, MD,PhD, of the Veterans Affairs Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, told Healio. “But when it comes to selecting therapies, there is not a lot of good evidence to guide which therapies are most efficacious in which populations.” Read more.

Three-quarters of patients in RA remission flare within 3 years of TNF inhibitor taper

Approximately 75% of patients in rheumatoid arthritis remission who taper TNF inhibitors to withdrawal experience a flare within 3 years, according to data presented at ACR Convergence 2023.

Meanwhile, just 15% of patients in RA remission who remained on stable TNF inhibition demonstrated flare during the same time period, the researchers wrote. Read more.

Adalimumab biosimilar SB5 shows high persistence, no new safety signals through 48 weeks

Patients receiving the adalimumab biosimilar SB5 demonstrated high persistence, consistent effectiveness and no new safety signals through 48 weeks, according to data published in BioDrugs.

“SB5 was granted European Medicines Agency approval in August 2017 for the same indications as reference adalimumab, and became available for prescription in Europe in October 2018,” Ulf Müller-Ladner, MD, of Justus-Liebig University Giessen, in Germany, and colleagues wrote. “Transitioning from reference adalimumab to SB5 had previously been evaluated in a randomized controlled trial setting with narrow eligibility criteria in a single indication (RA); long-term, real-world evidence in representative populations is needed.” Read more.

References:

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Causes, symptoms, treatments and more. https://www.arthritis.org/diseases/rheumatoid-arthritis. Published Oct. 15, 2021. Accessed Jan. 29, 2024.

Rheumatoid Awareness Day press release. https://rheum4us.org/rheumatoid-awareness-day-press-release/. Published Jan. 22, 2013. Accessed Jan 29, 2024.