ArticleEuropean journal of pain (London, England)2020
The burden of pain in rheumatoid arthritis: Impact of disease activity and psychological factors.
Article in European journal of pain (London, England), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
66 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 93 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of exercise on physical function and pain in adults with rheumatoid arthritis: an exit meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Pooled it
- Home-based transcranial direct current stimulation for persistent pain state in rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized trial.Advances in rheumatology (London, England) · 2026Trial
- The effect of warm saltwater and warm water baths on pain, fatigue, sleep quality, and functional capacity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized controlled studyBMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Trial
- Anti-GM-CSF otilimab versus sarilumab or placebo in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and inadequate response to targeted therapies: a phase III randomised trial (contRAst 3).Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2023Trial
- Persistent Opioid Exposure in Older Adults with Rheumatic Disease: National Patterns, Disparities, and Cross-Specialty Prescribing.The Journal of rheumatology · 2026Article
- Clinical characteristics and associated factors of difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis: a cross-sectional study.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Article
- Article
- Beyond Pain Intensity: Central Sensitization and Psychosocial Symptom Burden in Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Observational
- Long-Term Clinical and Radiological Outcomes of Cementless Total Knee Arthroplasty in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Splenic neuromodulation as monotherapy and in combination with biologic or targeted synthetic DMARDs for difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis (ConsiderRAte): a randomised, sham-controlled, early feasibility trial.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- Impact of disease duration on forefoot involvement in rheumatoid arthritis remission: clinical, ultrasound, and radiographic insights.BMC rheumatology · 2026Article
- The effect of tumor necrosis factor-alpha on rheumatoid arthritis-related pain: overview of evidence and mechanistic pathways.Croatian medical journal · 2026Review
- Molding the Pain into Porcelain: The Silent Resilience of Arthritic Hands in Hong Kong's Ceramic Studios.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Clinical Relevance of the HALP Score in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Association with Disease Activity and Inflammatory Burden.Archives of rheumatology · 2026Article
- Home-based rehabilitation in interstitial lung disease: picturing the present and drawing the future through a systematic review of the literature.ERJ open research · 2026Review
- The Association Between Neuropathic Pain, Pain Intensity, and Inflammatory Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Assessment of Pain Types in Recently Diagnosed Patients With Inflammatory Arthritis.Arthritis care & research · 2026Article
- Towards an individualised approach to pain management in inflammatory arthritis.Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease · 2026Review
- Joint-brain communication in rheumatoid arthritis: glial mechanisms, pain phenotypes, and translational evidence.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Assessment of public knowledge and awareness regarding rheumatological diseases: a cross-sectional study.Reumatologia · 2026Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPain remains a prevalent symptom for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients despite a wide therapeutic choice. The objective of this study was to provide a multidimensional evaluation of pain.
methodsA total of 295 RA patients from 7 French rheumatology centres were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Patients completed a chronic pain assessment questionnaire approved by the French National Authority for Health, the health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) as well as depression and anxiety scales (HAD, Beck Depression Inventory, STAI). Disease activity (DAS28) and ESR were recorded. A multivariate descriptive analysis was undertaken using principal component analysis (PCA).
results38.4% of patients had a pain score > 40 mm/100, although 83% were on biological treatment and 38.7% were in remission based on the RA activity score. The PCA analysis found four axes representing 70% of total variance. The axes, per cent of variance and variables represented were as follows: (a) axis 1, 41% variance, anxiety and depression scores, sensory and affective qualifier score, HAQ and pain impact on daily life; (b) axis 2, 13% variance, disease activity score (DAS28) and pain relief with current treatment; (c) axis 3, 9% of variance, RA duration and radiographic score and (d) axis 4, 6% of variance, DAS28 and ESR. Moderate to severe pain was significantly associated with axes 1 and 2.
conclusionsDespite a high proportion of patients on biological treatments, 38.4% of patients continue to experience moderate to severe pain. Pain is associated with the RA activity score, but also with the depression and anxiety scores. SIGNIFICANCE: Substantial proportion of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients still experiences relevant pain, although more than 80% on biological treatment. Pain is primarily associated with anxiety and depression scores and with disease activity score. These findings highlight the need to assess patients' mental well-being alongside. Clinical measures of disease activity to better manage pain and guide treatment decisions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.