Clinicodemographic Profiles of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients from a Single Center in Saudi Arabia

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic Characteristics of the Patients

Demographic Characteristics	Frequency	Percentage (%) or Range
Sex
Male	11	14.7
Female	64	85.3
Age group (years)
≤42	21	28.0
43–50	21	28.0
51–58	16	21.3
≥59	17	22.7
Mean age (years) (range)	49.7 (21–80)
Children
≤2	29	38.7
3–6	26	34.7
≥7	20	26.7
Mean (range)	4 (0–12)
Marital status
Single	12	16.0
Married	55	73.3
Divorced	2	2.7
Widowed	6	8.0
Nationality
Saudi Arabian	41	54.7
African	9	12.0
Palestinian Syrian	2	2.7
Asian	9	12.0
Yemeni	14	18.7
Duration of illness (days) (mean±SD), range	129.64±162.09	1–1296
HAQ (mean±SD), range	0.62±0.50	0.00–1.95
Tender joint counts (mean±SD), range	3.84±5.50	0–20
Swollen joint counts (mean±SD), range	2.41±4.26	0–20
DAS28-CRP
Low activity/remission	29	38.6
Moderate activity	34	45.3
High activity	12	16

Abbreviations: DAS28-CRP, Disease Activity Score of 28 joints with C-Reactive Protein; HAQ-DI, health assessment questionnaire disability index; SD, standard deviation.

Figure 1 Schematic representation of the medications used to treat the patients included in the study.

Table 2 Medications of the Sample Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (Number of Patients)

Medications	Monotherapy	Combination	Total
DMARDs	18	37	55
Methotrexate	12	22	34
Leflunomide	2	12	14
Sulfasalazine	1	5	6
Hydroxychloroquine	3	21	24
Prednisone	2	20	22
NSAIDs	2	2	4
Biological treatments	5	14	19
Adalimumab	1	10	11
Etanercept	3	0	3
Rituximab	1	4	5

Abbreviations: DMARDs, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Table 3 Patient Medications and Activity Level According to the DAS28-CRP Scale

Medication	Remission	Low Activity	Moderate Activity	High Activity	P-value
	No.	No.	No.	No.
DMARDs	15	5	28	7	0.393
Methotrexate	12	4	14	4	0.812
Leflunomide	2	2	8	2	0.438
Sulfasalazine	4	0	1	1	0.231
Hydroxychloroquine	5	2	14	3	0.432
Prednisone	8	1	11	2	0.728
NSAIDs	2	0	2	0	0.722
Biological	7	1	6	5	0.137
Adalimumab	3	0	5	3	0.289
Etanercept	2	1	0	0	0.185
Rituximab	2	0	1	2	0.206

Abbreviations: DMARDs, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; DAS28-CRP, Disease Activity Score of 28 joints with C-Reactive Protein.

Table 4 Activity Level and Patient Comorbidities

		Remission		Low Activity		Moderate Activity		High Activity		p-value
		No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
Diabetes Mellitus	Not diseased	19	31%	7	11%	28	46%	7	11%	0.466
	Diseased	5	36%	0	0%	6	43%	3	21%
Hypertension	Not diseased	15	27%	7	13%	25	45%	8	15%	0.239
	Diseased	9	45%	0	0%	9	45%	2	10%
Osteoporosis	Not diseased	23	31%	7	9%	34	46%	10	14%	0.541
	Diseased	1	100%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Hypothyroidism	Not diseased	20	31%	5	8%	29	45%	10	16%	0.411
	Diseased	4	36%	2	18%	5	45%	0	0%
Cardiovascular diseases	Not diseased	23	33%	7	10%	34	49%	6	9%	<0.001
	Diseased	1	20%	0	0%	0	0%	4	80%
Cancer	Not diseased	13	33%	3	8%	18	45%	6	15%	0.577
	Diseased	1	100%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%

Table 5 Relationship Between the HAQ-DI Score and Patients’ Routine Medications

Medication	Less Difficulty (Less Than Median 0.5)	More Difficulty (More Than Median 0.5)	p-value
	No.	No.
DMARDs	31	24	0.090
Methotrexate	17	17	1
Leflunomide	6	8	0.515
Sulfasalazine	4	2	0.394
Hydroxychloroquine	14	10	0.321
Prednisone	11	11	0.939
NSAIDs	1	2	0.539
Biological (Total)	11	8	0.556
Adalimumab	7	4	0.351
Etanercept	1	2	0.539
Rituximab	3	2	0.714

Abbreviations: HAQ-DI, health assessment questionnaire disability index; DMARDs, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Table 6 Relationship Between HAQ-DI Scores and Patient Comorbidities

		Less Difficulty (Less Than Median)	More Difficulty (More Than Median)	p-value
		No.	No.
Diabetes mellitus	Not Diseased	29	31	0.553
	Diseased	8	6
Hypertension	Not Diseased	27	27	1
	Diseased	10	10
Osteoporosis	Not Diseased	36	37	0.314
	Diseased	1	0
Hypothyroidism	Not Diseased	32	31	0.744
	Diseased	5	6
Cardiovascular diseases	Not Diseased	36	33	0.165
	Diseased	1	4
Cancer	Not Diseased	22	18	0.276
	Diseased	0	1

Abbreviation: HAQ-DI, health assessment questionnaire disability index.