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Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who are overweight may be harder to treat

BMJ 2017; 359 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j5553 (Published 30 November 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;359:j5553
  1. Jacqui Wise
  1. London

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who are overweight or obese have worse outcomes than those who are a healthy weight, research published in Arthritis Care & Research has found.1

The Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort (CATCH) study included 982 patients with early rheumatoid arthritis, of whom 32% had a healthy body mass index (18.5-24.9), 35% were overweight (BMI 25.0-29.9), and 33% were obese (BMI ≥30). The patients were treated by rheumatologists as per guidelines with disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) followed by biologics. Treatment did not differ between the three groups.

Overall, 355 patients (36%) achieved sustained remission in the three years after diagnosis. …

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