Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35854372›Full record

SynthesisArthritis research & therapy2022

The effect of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs on skeletal muscle mass in rheumatoid arthritis patients: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Thales R Hein, Leonardo Peterson, Barbara J Bartikoski, Juliana Portes, Rafaela C Espírito Santo, Ricardo M Xavier

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Arthritis research & therapy, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.1field-weighted citation impact, top 4% 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

20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Longitudinal Course of Muscle Status in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.International journal of rheumatic diseases · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Review
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Observational
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Sarcopenia in Rheumatoid arthritis. A narrative review.Journal of frailty, sarcopenia and falls · 2023
    Review
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Thales R HeinUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rheumatology, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2350, Porto Alegre, RS, 90035-903, Brazil. thaleshein@gmail.com.
Leonardo PetersonUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rheumatology, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2350, Porto Alegre, RS, 90035-903, Brazil.
Barbara J BartikoskiUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rheumatology, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2350, Porto Alegre, RS, 90035-903, Brazil.
Juliana PortesUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rheumatology, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2350, Porto Alegre, RS, 90035-903, Brazil.
Rafaela C Espírito SantoUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rheumatology, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2350, Porto Alegre, RS, 90035-903, Brazil.
Ricardo M XavierUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rheumatology, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2350, Porto Alegre, RS, 90035-903, Brazil.
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul · BR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease, characterized by chronic and systemic inflammation. Besides, it is known that RA patients may present several comorbidities, such as sarcopenia, a condition where patients present both muscle mass and muscle quality impairment. RA treatment is mostly pharmacological and consists in controlling systemic inflammation and disease activity. Despite that, the effect of pharmacological treatment on sarcopenia is not well characterized.

objectiveTo summarize the effects of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) on skeletal muscle tissue in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

methodsA systematic review of randomized clinical trials and observational studies was conducted using MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. We selected studies with rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) that analyzed muscle mass parameters such as lean mass and appendicular lean mass. Methodological quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. Standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were set. A meta-analysis of observational studies was performed using the R software, and we considered significant statistics when p < 0.05.

resultsNine studies were included in this systematic review. In the meta-analysis, DMARD treatment had no positive difference (p = 0.60) in lean mass. In the same way, in the appendicular lean mass parameter, our results showed that DMARDs did not have changes between baseline and post-treatment analysis (p = 0.93).

conclusionThere is no evidence of a significant effect of DMARD therapy, either synthetic or biological, on muscle mass. However, this association should be investigated with more studies.

Indexed as

Antirheumatic AgentsArthritis, RheumatoidSarcopeniaHumansInflammationMuscle, SkeletalAntirheumatic AgentsAppendicular lean massDMARDDrugsLean massMuscle lossRheumatoid arthritisSarcopeniaSystematic reviewTreatment

Identifiers

PMID35854372
PMCPMC9295282
OpenAlexW4285795888

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.