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Standard treatment in daily clinical practice for early rheumatoid arthritis improved disease activity from 2001 to 2006

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Modern Rheumatology

Abstract

We aimed to clarify the degree of improvement in disease control following early treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in daily clinical practice in 2006 compared to that in 2001. Using a large observational Japanese RA cohort (IORRA), we analyzed changes in clinical parameters, including disease activity assessed by the disease activity score 28 (DAS28) and physical disability assessed by the Japanese version of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (J-HAQ), which occurred within 2 years of cohort inception. All patients had enrolled in the IORRA cohort within 1 year of RA onset, in either 2001 (2001-cohort) or 2006 (2006-cohort). For both cohorts, changes in clinical features over 2 years were compared by Fisher’s exact test or the Wilcoxon test. The 2001-cohort included 71 patients and the 2006-cohort included 56 patients. Over the 2-year period for each cohort, DAS28 significantly decreased from 3.9 to 3.5 in the 2001-cohort (p < 0.001) and from 4.1 to 3.1 in the 2006-cohort (p < 0.0001), and J-HAQ significantly decreased from 0.62 to 0.49 (p < 0.02) in the 2001-cohort and from 0.71 to 0.41 (p < 0.001) in the 2006-cohort. Greater improvement in disease activity over 2 years occurred in the 2006-cohort than in the 2001-cohort (p < 0.05). Better disease control was obtained following changes in RA treatment strategy that occurred in Japan between 2001 and 2006.

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Acknowledgments

The IORRA cohort was supported by non-restricted research grants from 36 pharmaceutical companies; Abbott Japan Co., Ltd., Asahikasei Kuraray Medical Co., Ltd., Asahikasei Pharma Corporation, Astellas Pharma Inc., AstraZeneca K.K., Banyu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Daiichi Fine Chemical Co., Ltd., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., Eisai Co., Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline K.K., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Japan Tobacco Inc., Kaken Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Kowa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Chemical Medience Corporation, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Nippon Chemiphar Co., Ltd., Nippon Shinyaku Co., Ltd., Novartis Pharma K.K., Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Pfizer Japan Inc., Sanofi-Aventis K.K., Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho Co., Ltd., Sekisui Medical Co., Ltd., Taisho Toyama Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Teijin Pharma Limited, Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Toyama Chemical Co., Ltd., UCB Japan Co., Ltd., Wyeth K.K., and Zeria Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Conflict of interest

Hisashi Yamanaka: Research grants from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Astellas Pharma Inc., Wyeth K.K., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Banyu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Abbott Japan Co., Ltd., Eisai Co., Ltd., Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taishotoyama Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K. Lecture fees and/or consulting fees from Abbott, Eisai Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Hoffmann-La Roche, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and Pfizer Inc. The other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Rheumatology, Tokyo Women’s Medical University, 10-22 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-0054, Japan

    Ayako Nakajima, Eisuke Inoue, Kumi Shidara, Daisuke Hoshi, Eri Sato, Yohei Seto, Eiichi Tanaka, Atsuo Taniguchi, Shigeki Momohara & Hisashi Yamanaka

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  1. Ayako Nakajima
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  2. Eisuke Inoue
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  3. Kumi Shidara
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  4. Daisuke Hoshi
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  5. Eri Sato
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  6. Yohei Seto
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  7. Eiichi Tanaka
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  8. Atsuo Taniguchi
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  9. Shigeki Momohara
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  10. Hisashi Yamanaka
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Correspondence to Ayako Nakajima.

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Nakajima, A., Inoue, E., Shidara, K. et al. Standard treatment in daily clinical practice for early rheumatoid arthritis improved disease activity from 2001 to 2006. Mod Rheumatol 21, 594–597 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10165-011-0457-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10165-011-0457-0

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