Obesity among Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients and its Relation to Disease Activity: Cross-sectional Study among the Egyptian Population

Abstract

Background: The "100 Million Health" survey performed in 2019 in Egypt, which examined 49.7 million adult individuals aged 18 years and above, revealed that 39.8 percent have obesity, with female predominance. Further research into the effect of obesity in RA is necessary due to the established link between obesity and inflammation as well as changes in the body composition of RA patients. Objectives: To determine obesity prevalence in RA cases and its effect on the functional outcome as well as the disease activity score (DAS). Patients and Methods: The current cross-sectional study included 104 RA cases who met the 2010 ACR/EULAR classification criteria.Subjects underwent laboratory investigations, clinical examinations, and anthropometric measures (Body mass index BMI and waist circumference/hip circumference WC/HC ratio). Patient functional status was assessed utilizing the health assessment questionnaire disability index (HAQ-DI). Results: It was found that 23.1% of RA patients cases have average weight, while 27.9% were overweight and 49% were obese, with significant female predominance. There was a significant increase in the scores of HAQ-DI and DAS- 28 in overweight as well as obese subjects than those with normal BMI. Conclusion: Obesity is prevalent in RA cases, and it substantially affects DAS-28 score and functional status.