Key clinical point: Frailty may be partially reversible with treatment in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is associated with a greater risk for hospitalization and all-cause mortality in early and established RA.
Major finding: Patients with early RA improved from moderate/severe frailty to mild (33%) and robust (13%) states in the first 6 months of treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. In early and established RA, the moderate/severe vs. robust frailty level was associated with unscheduled hospitalization (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 2.88; 95% CI 1.97-4.20, and IRR 2.74; 95% CI 2.29-3.29, respectively) and all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 4.41; 95% CI 1.85-10.49 and HR 1.68; 95% CI 1.26-2.13, respectively).
Study details: This was a longitudinal analysis of two cohorts including 899 and 3605 patients with early and established RA, respectively.
Disclosures: No information on funding was reported. No conflicts of interest were declared.
Source: Hanlon P et al. Frailty in rheumatoid arthritis and its relationship with disease activity, hospitalisation and mortality: a longitudinal analysis of the Scottish Early Rheumatoid Arthritis cohort and UK Biobank. RMD Open. 2022;8:e002111 (Mar 15). Doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2021-002111