ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

  • Meetings
    • ACR Convergence 2024
    • ACR Convergence 2023
    • 2023 ACR/ARP PRSYM
    • ACR Convergence 2022
    • ACR Convergence 2021
    • ACR Convergence 2020
    • 2020 ACR/ARP PRSYM
    • 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting
    • 2018-2009 Meetings
    • Download Abstracts
  • Keyword Index
  • Advanced Search
  • Your Favorites
    • Favorites
    • Login
    • View and print all favorites
    • Clear all your favorites
  • ACR Meetings

Abstract Number: 76

The Difference in Performance of DAS28 and RADAI During Pregnancy Might Explain Discrepancies Between Older and More Recent Studies On the Impact of Pregnancy On Rheumatoid Arthritis

Jan Naterop1, Johanna M.W. Hazes2 and Radboud J.E.M. Dolhain3, 1Rheumatology, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2Rheumatology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 3Rheumatology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Meeting: 2012 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

Keywords: Activity score, pregnancy and questionnaires

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
Session Information

Title: Epidemiology and Health Services Research: Epidemiology and Outcomes of Rheumatic Disease I

Session Type: Abstract Submissions (ACR)

Background/Purpose: Pregnancy is the only condition in which Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) shows spontaneous remission. Both older and more recent studies showed improvement of disease activity, which was more pronounced and occurred earlier in pregnancy in the older studies. An explanation for the difference in improvement could be that the older studies measured RA disease activity retrospectively using self-assessed questionnaires, whereas the more recent studies measured disease activity  prospectively using a joint score. The Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28)  and the self-assessed Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity Index (RADAI) are both valid tools to determine the disease activity in RA. However the influence of pregnancy on the RADAI score has not been determined. Insight into this may contribute to a better understanding of the difference in outcome between older and more recent studies. Should the RADAI prove to be a valid instrument during pregnancy, it could be used for studies on RA and pregnancy. The aim of this study is to determine the validity of the RADAI during pregnancy in patients with RA by determining the correlation and agreement of the RADAI to the DAS28.

Methods: Pregnant RA patients were visited at their home-address (once before conception, during every trimester and three times post partum). During these visits the disease activity was measured by the RADAI and the DAS28. Correlation coefficients were determined for each time point. Furthermore, patients were stratified according to three disease states (high, intermediate, low and remission combined) based upon DAS28 and RADAI, with cut off points for the RADAI that are thought to be equivalent to those used for the DAS28.

 Results: Disease activity determined by RADAI as well as by DAS28 showed a decrease during pregnancy and a flare after delivery (p< 0.01) (fig. 1).   The correlations between DAS28 and RADAI were good (pre conception rho = 0.49, all other time points 0.61 < rho < 0.71 (p<0.01). When patients were stratified according to disease states, it was shown that according to the RADAI more patients showed remission or low disease activity during first trimester. (1st trim. RADAI 42,1%;DAS28 26.3%), whereas during the 3rd trimester these percentages were comparable (RADAI 43.3%; DAS 41.3%). After delivery, for both the RADAI and the DAS28, highest disease activity was observed at 12 weeks after delivery. Despite this the agreement on the disease activity states between RADAI and DAS28 was low (0.28 < kappa < 0.51).

Conclusion: The RADAI and DAS28 show moderate to good correlations. The RADAI might be a useful questionnaire to determine the disease activity for pregnant patients with RA. The study also shows that the RADAI score drops earlier than the DAS28.  This might explain why earlier studies that used self-assessed questionnaires show earlier improvements as compared to recent studies.

Fig .1


Disclosure:

J. Naterop,
None;

J. M. W. Hazes,
None;

R. J. E. M. Dolhain,
None.

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

« Back to 2012 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/the-difference-in-performance-of-das28-and-radai-during-pregnancy-might-explain-discrepancies-between-older-and-more-recent-studies-on-the-impact-of-pregnancy-on-rheumatoid-arthritis/

Advanced Search

Your Favorites

You can save and print a list of your favorite abstracts during your browser session by clicking the “Favorite” button at the bottom of any abstract. View your favorites »

All abstracts accepted to ACR Convergence are under media embargo once the ACR has notified presenters of their abstract’s acceptance. They may be presented at other meetings or published as manuscripts after this time but should not be discussed in non-scholarly venues or outlets. The following embargo policies are strictly enforced by the ACR.

Accepted abstracts are made available to the public online in advance of the meeting and are published in a special online supplement of our scientific journal, Arthritis & Rheumatology. Information contained in those abstracts may not be released until the abstracts appear online. In an exception to the media embargo, academic institutions, private organizations, and companies with products whose value may be influenced by information contained in an abstract may issue a press release to coincide with the availability of an ACR abstract on the ACR website. However, the ACR continues to require that information that goes beyond that contained in the abstract (e.g., discussion of the abstract done as part of editorial news coverage) is under media embargo until 10:00 AM ET on November 14, 2024. Journalists with access to embargoed information cannot release articles or editorial news coverage before this time. Editorial news coverage is considered original articles/videos developed by employed journalists to report facts, commentary, and subject matter expert quotes in a narrative form using a variety of sources (e.g., research, announcements, press releases, events, etc.).

Violation of this policy may result in the abstract being withdrawn from the meeting and other measures deemed appropriate. Authors are responsible for notifying colleagues, institutions, communications firms, and all other stakeholders related to the development or promotion of the abstract about this policy. If you have questions about the ACR abstract embargo policy, please contact ACR abstracts staff at [email protected].

Wiley

  • Online Journal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Permissions Policies
  • Cookie Preferences

© Copyright 2025 American College of Rheumatology