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Abstract Number: 2644

The Relationship Between Disease Activity and Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Sang-Il Lee1, Young Sun Suh1, Yun-Hong Cheon1, Hyun-Ok Kim1, Hyun-Su Yang2, Ki-Soo Park2, Eun-Kyoung Park3, Seung-Geun Lee4, Chang-Nam Son5, Ji-Min Kim5 and Sang-Hyon Kim6, 1Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, South Korea, 2Department of Preventive Medicine, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, South Korea, 3Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, South Korea, 4Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Busan National University School of Medicine, Busan, South Korea, 5Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu, South Korea, 6Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu, South Korea

Meeting: ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting 2015

Date of first publication: September 29, 2015

Keywords: Cognitive dysfunction and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Disease Activity

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Session Information

Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Title: Rheumatoid Arthritis - Clinical Aspects Poster Session III

Session Type: ACR Poster Session C

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose:  Only few studies investigated the prevalence and risk factors of cognitive impairment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), however, results are controversial. Therefore we performed this study to determine the prevalence and risk factors of cognitive impairment and their association with RA disease activity.

Methods: Patients with RA and osteoarthritis (OA) were recruited from 3 university hospitals and physical, psychosocial, laboratorial, and medication statuses were assessed. Patients under 45 years old or with illiteracy were excluded. The activity and functional status of RA were assessed by Disease activity score (DAS)-ESR and Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data 3 (RAPID 3) score. Cognitive function was evaluated by Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-K). Cognitive impairment was defined as MMSE-K scores ≤ 23.

Results:  A total of 506 RA and 202 OA patients were recruited. Cognitive impairment was observed in 10.5%in RA and 13.4% in OA (P=0.272). In subgroup analysis between RA patients with cognitive impairment (n=53) or not (n=453), education level (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.64-0.80), marriage status (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.02-4.41), and high disease activity (OR 2.84, 95% CI 1.08-7.48) were independently predicted cognitive impairment after multivariate analysis controlling for age, hypertension, exercise, RAPID 3 score, fatigue, depression, and medication use. In subgroup analysis between RA patients with high disease activity (DAS28-ESR>5.1, n=55) or without (n=448), high disease activity was strongly associated with cognitive impairment (25.5% vs 8.5%, P=0.001). The education level was 63.8±9.96 and 62.1±8.51 (P=0.250) and age was 7.9±4.42 and 8.8±3.82 (P=0.111). In addition, DAS28-ESR score showed negative correlation with MMSE-K score (ρ=-0.110, P<0.05).

Conclusion: High disease activity is strongly associated with cognitive impairment in patients with RA. Thus, controlling disease activity may help preserving cognitive function in RA.


Disclosure: S. I. Lee, None; Y. S. Suh, None; Y. H. Cheon, None; H. O. Kim, None; H. S. Yang, None; K. S. Park, None; E. K. Park, None; S. G. Lee, None; C. N. Son, None; J. M. Kim, None; S. H. Kim, None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Lee SI, Suh YS, Cheon YH, Kim HO, Yang HS, Park KS, Park EK, Lee SG, Son CN, Kim JM, Kim SH. The Relationship Between Disease Activity and Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015; 67 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/the-relationship-between-disease-activity-and-cognitive-impairment-in-patients-with-rheumatoid-arthritis/. Accessed .
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