Observational studyRheumatology international2023
Delay in diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis: reasons and trends over a decade.
Observational study in Rheumatology international, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Infrared thermography in the detection of arthritis: a systematic review of diagnostic performance compared with joint ultrasound.Rheumatology international · 2026Pooled it
- RhePort 1.3 enhances early identification of inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a prospective study in German rheumatology settings.Rheumatology international · 2025Trial
- Comorbidity Profiles at Diagnosis in Rheumatoid Arthritis Versus Psoriatic Arthritis: A Nationwide Polish Claims-Based Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Machine learning improves online self-referral for inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a registry-based validation study.Rheumatology international · 2026Article
- Attrition and representativeness in development and validation of online symptom checkers-a case study on theFrontiers in artificial intelligence · 2026Article
- Natural language processing to intercept rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis from clinical notes in the Emergency Department.Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease · 2026Article
- Sociodemographic and economic barriers to initial specialist care for patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a scoping review.BMC rheumatology · 2025Article
- Review
- Factors affecting the duration of initial medical care seeking among older rural patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis: a retrospective cohort study.BMC rheumatology · 2024Article
- Current Use and Barriers to Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Rheumatology: A National Survey of VA Medical Centers.Rheumatology and therapy · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionDelay in diagnosis and treatment initiation often lead to poorer outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Most of the data on delay in diagnosis and management are from western population with no data from India. Additionally, with improved health care services, whether the delay has changed over years is not known. In this longitudinal observational study, we investigated delay to diagnosis and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) initiation over past 9 years.
methodsPatients aged ≥ 18 years having RA fulfilling 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria were enrolled from January to June in years 2012, 2017 and 2021. Diagnoses received before presenting to clinic, socioeconomic status, educational level and other demographic variables were recorded.
resultsEach year, 323 patients (mean age 49.5-52.01 years) were enrolled. There was a significant reduction in delay in diagnosis from a median (IQR) of 36 (12-84, range 1-288) months in 2012 to 12 (4-36, range 1-180) months in 2017 and 10 (5-24, range 1-120) months) in 2021 (p < 0.0001). A significant improvement in time to initiating DMARDs from 2012 [48 (24-96) months] to 2017 [12 (6-36) months] (p < 0.0001) and from 2017 to 2021 [12 (5-24) months] (p = 0.03) was seen. Higher education, more patients opting for treatment from rheumatologists, and urbanisation contributed significantly to improvement in delay. There was no impact of age or gender on delay.
conclusionDelay in diagnosis has improved significantly between 2012 and 2021. However, delay still remains long as most patients miss the 3-month therapeutic window. Future work focussing on reasons for delays in the patient pathway could help improve consultation pathways in India.
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