Disease control and its associated factors in outpatients with rheumatoid arthritis

The present study aimed to evaluate disease activity and explore the factors associated with poor disease control among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This cross-sectional study was conducted at outpatient rheumatology clinics in two teaching hospitals in Jordan. Medication adherence was assessed using the validated five-item compliance questionnaire for rheumatology, and disease activity was assessed using the clinical disease activity Index score. Ordinal regression was performed to explore the factors associated with uncontrolled RA. Most of the participants (n=261) demonstrated moderate to high disease activity (71.2%). Seronegative RA (B=0.882, CI [-1.584/-0.180], p<0.05) was significantly associated with lower disease activity, while medication nonadherence was significantly associated with poor RA control (B=1.023, CI [0.289-1.756], p<0.01). Future research should explore the factors associated with medication non-adherence. These factors should be targeted in future interventions to improve RA control, particularly in patients who suffer from high disease severity.

Automated summary

This study aimed to evaluate disease activity and explore factors associated with poor disease control in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted in outpatient rheumatology clinics in two teaching hospitals in Jordan. Medication adherence was assessed using a validated questionnaire, and disease activity was assessed using the clinical disease activity index score. The study found that most participants demonstrated moderate to high disease activity, with seronegative RA associated with lower disease activity and medication nonadherence associated with poor RA control. Future research should investigate factors related to medication nonadherence and target these factors in interventions to improve RA control, especially in patients with high disease severity.