Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35523521›Full record

ArticleRMD open2022

Heterogeneity of axial spondyloarthritis: genetics, sex and structural damage matter.

Zhixiu Li, Sjef M van der Linden, Muhammad Asim Khan, Heinz Baumberger, Hermine van Zandwijk, Mohammad Kazim Khan, Peter M Villiger, Matthew A Brown

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in RMD open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
5.8field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Review
  5. Global epidemiology of spondyloarthritis.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2025
    Review
  6. Observational
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Observational
  10. Review
  11. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 5 institutions in 5 countries.

Zhixiu LiFaculty of Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2924-9120
Sjef M van der LindenUniversity of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-0087-0351
Muhammad Asim KhanCase Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4704-8311
Heinz BaumbergerSVMB, Flims, Switzerland.
Hermine van ZandwijkRheumatology Research, Mortroux, Belgium.
Mohammad Kazim KhanDepartment of Mathematical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9857-0578
Peter M VilligerMedical Center Monbijou, Meikirch, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-8859-9964
Matthew A BrownDepartment of Medical and Molecular Genetics, King's College London, London, UK matt.brown@genomicsengland.co.uk.ORCID 0000-0003-0538-8211
Kent State University · USHôpital Beau-Séjour · CHKing's College London · GBQueensland University of Technology · AUUniversity of Bern · CH

Funding

Department of Health
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveAxial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) comprises both radiographic and non-radiographic disease. However, the paucity of specific objective measures for the disease and current classification criteria showing suboptimal specificity contribute to disease heterogeneity observed in clinical practice and research. We used a historical cohort of patients with axSpA to assess sources of heterogeneity.

methodsThe study involved 363 axSpA probands recruited from membership of the Swiss Ankylosing Spondylitis Patient Society. Participants underwent examination by a rheumatologist, completed questionnaires and provided blood samples for HLA typing. Patients underwent radiography of sacroiliac joints and were categorised according to the New York (NY) criteria (ankylosing spondylitis (AS) or non-radiographic axSpA (nr-axSpA)) and HLA-B27 status. Genetic characterisation by single nucleotide polymorphism microarray was performed and AS polygenic risk scores (PRS) were calculated.

resultsConsiderable heterogeneity was observed. The male to female ratio for AS (NY+) was 3:1, but 1:1 for nr-axSpA. For HLA-27(+) AS, the ratio was 2.5:1, but nearly 1:1 for HLA-B27(-) disease. Women with nr-axSpA had strikingly lower mean PRS and lower HLA-B27 prevalence than men with nr-axSpA or NY(+) male and female patients with AS. PRS was able to distinguish male but not female patients with nr-axSpA from related healthy first-degree relatives. Radiographic sacroiliitis was strongly associated with HLA-B27, especially in men.

conclusionWomen clinically diagnosed with axSpA but without radiographic sacroiliitis as a group have a disease that is distinct from AS by the modified New York criteria overall and from nr-axSpA in men. Given the high degree of heterogeneity, stratified or adjusted analysis of effectiveness studies is indicated, taking genetics, sex and radiographic damage (sacroiliitis) into account.

Indexed as

Axial SpondyloarthritisSacroiliitisSpondylarthritisSpondylitis, AnkylosingFemaleHLA-B27 AntigenHumansMaleHLA-B27 AntigenAnkylosing SpondylitisEpidemiologyPolymorphism, Genetic

Identifiers

PMID35523521
PMCPMC9083385
OpenAlexW4229070971

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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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.