Session Information
Session Type: Poster Session (Sunday)
Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM
Background/Purpose: To better understand the symptoms, clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and quality of life (QoL), of non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) patients and how they compare to ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients.
Methods: Data from a cross-sectional survey conducted with rheumatologists and their consulting patients in the United States were analyzed. Data were collected from Jun-Aug 2018 via physician-completed patient record forms and patient self-completed forms. Patients who had physician confirmed diagnoses of AS and nr-axSpA were eligible to participate. Demographics, disease status (improving, stable, deteriorating slowly, deteriorating rapidly), symptoms, and medication use were reported by the physician, while work disability and QoL measures were reported by the patient using validated questionnaires. QoL and treatment patterns of nr-axSpA and AS patients were compared using parametric tests and non-parametric tests where appropriate.
Results: Data from 88 rheumatologists, 515 AS patients, and 495 nr-axSpA patients were included in this analysis. A higher proportion of nr-axSpA patients were female (46.7% vs. 28.7%; p< 0.0001) and had a younger mean age (44.2 vs. 46.3; p=0.014) compared to AS patients. Nr-axSpA patients were less likely to be prescribed biologic therapy (59.6% vs. 73.6%; p< 0.0001) than AS patients. On average, AS patients experienced slightly more symptoms at diagnosis (2.31 vs. 2.61; p=0.023), however, more nr-axSpA patients were reported to experience enthesitis (24.9% vs. 19.3%; p=0.048) and synovitis (20.6% vs. 13.1%; p=0.003). Patient reported outcomes such as the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society Health Index (ASAS HI;5.24 vs. 5.74; p=0.171), Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life (ASQoL; 5.81 vs. 6.29; p=0.296), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI; 2.92 vs. 3.19; p=0.124), and Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI; 27.6 vs. 30.2; p=0.183) were similar between nr-axSpA and AS patients.
Conclusion: Nr-axSpA and AS being part of the same disease spectrum (i.e. axial spondyloarthritis) share the same clinical features. The burden of the disease, as assessed by QoL measurements, is also similar in AS and nr-axSpA patients, but despite these similarities, patients with nr-axSpA are less likely to be treated with a biologic. The treatment approach for nr-axSpA needs to be similar to AS.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Hunter T, Sandoval D, Booth N, Holdsworth E, Deodhar A. Comparing Symptoms, Treatments Patterns, and Quality of Life of Non-radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis Patients: Findings from a US Survey [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2019; 71 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/comparing-symptoms-treatments-patterns-and-quality-of-life-of-non-radiographic-axial-spondyloarthritis-and-ankylosing-spondylitis-patients-findings-from-a-us-survey/. Accessed .« Back to 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting
ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/comparing-symptoms-treatments-patterns-and-quality-of-life-of-non-radiographic-axial-spondyloarthritis-and-ankylosing-spondylitis-patients-findings-from-a-us-survey/