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Comorbidities in Nigerian patients with rheumatoid arthritis

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Abstract

Introduction

Rheumatoid arthritis has been infrequently reported among African black populations. Recent data have shown increasing reportage. Comorbidities are increasingly recognised as important in the overall morbidity, mortality and response to management. There have been few reports from Africa on the frequency and role of comorbidities associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Africans.

Methods

This 20-year retrospective study looked at the frequency of various comorbidities among Nigerian patients with rheumatoid arthritis from a rheumatology facility. Data were obtained from the case record files of 283 RA patients. The chi-square test was used to assess the relationship between patient characteristics and the presence of comorbidity, while logistic regression was used to determine factors that were independently associated with the occurrence of comorbidities in these patients.

Results

The frequency of comorbidities among RA patients is high at 52.3%, mainly from common conditions such as hypertension (22.3%), dyslipidaemia (11.3%), osteoarthritis (8.1%), diabetes mellitus (7.1%), peptic ulcer disease (6.4%) and interstitial lung disease (3.5%). Increasing age (χ2 47.74, P<0.001) and prolonged duration of symptoms before diagnosis (χ2 9.0, P = 0.02) were significantly associated with the presence of comorbidity on univariate analysis, and only age was found to be independently associated with comorbidities on logistic regression.

Conclusion

The frequencies of these comorbidities are similar in certain aspects to other such reports but differ from others. An important factor may be the delay in presentation to a rheumatologist. It is hoped that other more extensive studies will elucidate some of these findings.

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Data availability

Data can be provided on request and after approval by all authors.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the staff of Arthrimed Specialist Hospital for helping with the records.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lagos State University College of Medicine/ Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria

    Olufemi Adelowo

  2. Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Nigeria

    Asekhame Omokhowa

  3. Usman Dan Fodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria

    Olisa Ochiagha

  4. Department of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria

    Courage Ukponmwan Uhunmwangho

Authors
  1. Olufemi Adelowo
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  2. Asekhame Omokhowa
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  3. Olisa Ochiagha
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  4. Courage Ukponmwan Uhunmwangho
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Courage Ukponmwan Uhunmwangho.

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Key Points

• Comorbidities are important in the management of rheumatoid arthritis

• This study shows that comorbidities are common in rheumatoid arthritis

• Rheumatoid arthritis patients who present late to the rheumatologist are more likely to have comorbidities

• Older patients have more comorbidities

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Adelowo, O., Omokhowa, A., Ochiagha, O. et al. Comorbidities in Nigerian patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Clin Rheumatol 43, 23–28 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-023-06797-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-023-06797-0

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