Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40264486›Full record

ArticleArchives of rheumatology2025

Disease activity and changes in the fibrosis-4 index in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with methotrexate for a short period.

Noriyuki Namura, Kazuya Kamada, Takahumi Hagiwara, Kanae Takahashi, Kiyoshi Matsui

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Archives of rheumatology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

5 authors.

Noriyuki NamuraDepartment of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Clinical Immunology, Division of Allergology and Rheumatology, School of Medicine, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, Japan.ORCID 0009-0003-9540-2247
Kazuya KamadaDepartment of Rheumatology, Takarazuka City Hospital, Takarazuka City, Japan.ORCID 0009-0007-4789-1014
Takahumi HagiwaraDepartment of Rheumatology, Takarazuka City Hospital, Takarazuka City, Japan.
Kanae TakahashiDepartment of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-7745-2342
Kiyoshi MatsuiDepartment of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Clinical Immunology, Division of Allergology and Rheumatology, School of Medicine, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-1146-4172

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the relationship between disease activity and changes in the fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who received methotrexate as Phase I treatment for a short period. Patients and methods: In this retrospective study, 144 patients (106 females, 38 males; median age: 68.05 years; range, 58.3 to 76.0 years) diagnosed with RA who had not received methotrexate before their diagnosis were included between April 2015 and September 2020. The patients' clinical data were recorded at baseline, six months, and 12 months. Patients with hepatitis, alcoholism, severe obesity, hypercholesterolemia, or overlapping autoimmune diseases and those receiving a maximum methotrexate dose of ≤10 mg/week were excluded. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of the changes in FIB-4 values from baseline. Mediation analysis was employed to determine the association between Disease Activity Score-28 for RA with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-ESR) and changes in FIB-4 values, with the cumulative methotrexate dose as a mediator. Results: FIB-4 values increased significantly from baseline to 12 months after methotrexate initiation. The cumulative methotrexate dose did not independently influence changes in FIB-4 values. After adjusting for confounding factors, the factor independently influencing the change in fibrosis-4 values from baseline was DAS28-ESR at six and 12 months (β=0.107 and β=0.086, respectively). The cumulative methotrexate dose did not mediate the relationship between DAS28-ESR at baseline and changes in FIB-4 values, and it did not affect changes in FIB-4 values over a short period. Conclusion: Rheumatoid arthritis disease activity before methotrexate administration independently affected changes in FIB-4 values. We suggest monitoring FIB-4 values in patients with RA with high disease activity, even for a short period after methotrexate administration, as FIB-4 values in these patients may be underestimated.

Indexed as

Anti-rheumatic agentsfibrosismediation analysismethotrexaterheumatoid arthritis.

Identifiers

PMID40264486
PMCPMC12010268

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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.