Early RA Remission More Likely in Men Than in Women

In patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), sustained remission is more likely to be achieved in men than in women, a recent study found. However, sustained remission did not occur more frequently in men in the study who had established RA.

For the present analyses, researchers selected patients who had been enrolled in the CORRONA (Consortium of Rheumatology Researchers of North America) cohort between October 2001 and January 2010 and evaluated detailed clinical, demographic, and drug use data. They examined the influence of sex on Clinical Disease Activity Index remission and stratified data by RA duration at baseline to investigate whether RA duration had differential effects on remission in men and women.

In both early and established RA, women had more severe disease at baseline, with worse disease activity measures and modified Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index, pain visual analog scale, and depression scores. Treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy was more common in women than in men. The study appeared in the online version of Arthritis Care & Research, an American College of Rheumatology publication.