Body Mass Index Is Associated With Disease Activity, Functional Disability, and Remission in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61919/4jmqf659Keywords:
Rheumatoid Arthritis; Body Mass Index; Obesity; Disease Activity; DAS28-ESR; Remission; Functional Disability.Abstract
Background: Obesity and excess adiposity may influence rheumatoid arthritis disease activity, inflammation, functional limitation, and treatment-target achievement. Body mass index is a simple clinical measure that may help identify patients at higher risk of persistent disease burden. Objective: To assess the association between body mass index and rheumatoid arthritis disease severity, functional status, and remission in adult patients with established rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: This prospective cohort study included 140 adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Body mass index was measured using standard anthropometry and categorized as normal weight, overweight, or obese. Disease activity was assessed using DAS28-ESR, and functional status was assessed using HAQ-DI. DAS28-ESR remission was defined as a score below 2.6. Multivariable regression was used to assess the association of body mass index with disease activity and remission. Results: The mean age was 52.8 ± 11.4 years, and 76 patients were female. Mean body mass index was 28.7 ± 5.2 kg/m². DAS28-ESR increased from 3.24 ± 0.72 in normal-weight patients to 4.02 ± 0.83 in overweight patients and 4.61 ± 0.91 in obese patients. HAQ-DI increased from 0.86 ± 0.31 to 1.39 ± 0.45 across the same categories. Remission declined from 18.7% in normal-weight patients to 4.5% in obese patients. Body mass index remained associated with higher DAS28-ESR (β = 0.078, 95% CI 0.04-0.11, p < 0.001) and lower odds of remission (OR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.78-0.94, p = 0.001). Conclusion: Higher body mass index was associated with greater disease activity, poorer function, and lower remission rates in rheumatoid arthritis.
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