Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the remission rate of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in China and identify its potential determinants. A multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2009 to January 2012. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews of the rheumatology outpatients in 28 tertiary hospitals in China. The remission rates were calculated in 486 RA patients according to different definitions of remission: the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28), the Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI), the Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI), and the American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) Boolean definition. Potential determinants of RA remission were assessed by univariate and multivariate analyses. The remission rates of RA from this multi-center cohort were 8.6 % (DAS28), 8.4 % (SDAI), 8.2 % (CDAI), and 6.8 % (Boolean), respectively. Favorable factors associated with remission were: low Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score, absence of rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP), and treatment of methotrexate (MTX) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). Younger age was also predictive for the DAS28 and the Boolean remission. Multivariate analyses revealed a low HAQ score, the absence of anti-CCP, and the treatment with HCQ as independent determinants of remission. The clinical remission rate of RA patients was low in China. A low HAQ score, the absence of anti-CCP, and HCQ were significant independent determinants for RA remission.
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Acknowledgments
We are very grateful to the patients and their families for their cooperation and for giving consent to participate in this study.
Funding
This study was supported by The National Key Technology R&D Program (NO. 2008BAI59B01) and National Medical Science and Technique Foundation during the 12th Five-Year Plan Period (2012ZX09104103).
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None.
Ethical standards
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Peking University People’s Hospital (FWA00001384), and informed consent was obtained from all the patients.
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Dr. Guan-Ying Wang and Dr. Sa-Li Zhang contributed equally to this study.
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Wang, GY., Zhang, SL., Wang, XR. et al. Remission of rheumatoid arthritis and potential determinants: a national multi-center cross-sectional survey. Clin Rheumatol 34, 221–230 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-014-2828-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-014-2828-3