ArticleBMJ open2024
Prevalence of comorbidities among patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the UAE: a case-control study.
Article in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Lower extremity osteoarthritis in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis: prevalence, radiographic-clinical discordance, and functional impact - a cross-sectional study.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Article
- The prevalence of coronary artery disease in rheumatoid arthritis patients in Palestine: a cross-sectional study.BMC rheumatology · 2026Article
- Prevalence and Patterns of Dyslipidemia Among Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Cureus · 2025Article
- Causal Effects of Inflammatory Arthritis Subtypes on Fibromyalgia: A Comprehensive Mendelian Randomization Study.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Beyond joints: the importance of animal models in exploring rheumatoid arthritis comorbidities.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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Abstract
objectivesData on the rate of comorbidities in Arab patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are limited, and extrapolating the prevalence of comorbidities from international studies is challenging. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of comorbidities in patients with RA, compare it with that in non-RA controls and explore the association between the body mass index of patients with RA and comorbidities.
designThis is a retrospective, case-control study.
settingThis study included patients receiving secondary care at the Rheumatology Department of a public hospital in the Emirate of Dubai. The controls were recruited from patients receiving primary and secondary care at the Dubai Academic Health Corporation in the fourth quarter of 2022.
participantsThis study included all consecutive UAE national patients with RA who visited the rheumatology clinic. The study included 1756 participants in an age-matched and sex-matched control group and 439 patients with RA. Of these, 88.6% were female, and the median age was 55 years. Each RA case was randomly matched with four controls of the same age and sex. All relevant information, including case and control demographics and comorbidities, was retrieved from the electronic medical record. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The relative risk of comorbidities was compared between patients with RA and age-matched controls. The relationship between obesity in RA and the frequency of comorbidities was determined.
resultsThis study revealed that 188 (42.8%) patients with RA had at least one comorbidity, whereas only 636 (36.2%) individuals in the control group had at least one comorbidity (OR 1.3; 95% CI 1.1 to 1.6, p<0.01). Patients with RA were more likely to have ischaemic heart disease (OR 3.9; 95% CI 2.3 to 6.6, p<0.0001), fibromyalgia (OR 25; 95% CI 13 to 34, p<0.0001), cataract (OR 5.8; 95% CI 4 to 8.5, p<0.0001), osteoporosis (OR 6.8; 95% CI 4.6 to 10, p<0.0001) and knee osteoarthritis (OR 6.1; 95% CI 4.8 to 7.8, p<0.0001).
conclusionsPatients with RA were more likely to have cardiovascular, pulmonary and musculoskeletal comorbidities compared with the control group. Obese patients with RA had a higher incidence of comorbidity than non-obese patients with RA.
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