What role do socioeconomic and clinical factors play in disease activity states in rheumatoid arthritis? Data from a large UK early inflammatory arthritis audit

Background Persistently active rheumatoid arthritis (pactiveRA) may be due to the interplay between biological and non-biological factors. The role of socioeconomic factors remains unclear. Objectives To explore which biological and non-biological factors associate with pactiveRA. Methods Adults with early RA in the National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit, recruited from May 2018 to October 2022, were included if having pactiveRA or persistently low RA (plowRA). The pactiveRA was defined as three consecutive Disease Activity Score-28 joints (DAS28) of >3.2 at baseline, 3 and 12 months. The plowRA was defined as DAS28 ≤3.2 at 3 and 12 months. Stepwise forward logistic regression was used to explore associations with pactiveRA (outcome). Age and gender were included a priori, with socioeconomic factors and comorbidities as exposure variables. Results 682 patients with pactiveRA and 1026 plowRA were included. Compared with plowRA, patients with pactiveRA were younger (58, IQR: 49–67) versus (62, IQR: 52–72), and included more women (69% vs 59%). The pactiveRA was associated with worse scores in patient-reported outcomes at baseline, and anxiety and depression screens. Overall, there was clear social patterning in pactiveRA, with age-by-gender interaction. Logistic regression indicated age, gender, social deprivation and previous or current smoking, were independently associated with pactiveRA, after controlling for disease severity markers (seropositivity). Depression, lung disease, gastric ulcers and baseline corticosteroid use, were also associated with pactiveRA (p<0.05 for all). Conclusion Socioeconomic factors and deprivation were associated with pactiveRA, independent of clinical and disease characteristics. Identifying ‘adverse’ socioeconomic drivers of pactiveRA can help tailor interventions according to individual need. Data are available upon reasonable request. Data used in this study were collected for the National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit and are available on request to the data controllers (the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership). Data are available upon reasonable request by any qualified researchers who engage in rigorous, independent scientific research, and will be provided following review and approval of a research proposal and Statistical Analysis Plan and execution of a Data Sharing Agreement. All data relevant to the study are included in the article. All figures and tables included in this article are original.