Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Jun 14;2(1):e000267.
doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2016-000267. eCollection 2016.

Characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis and its association with major comorbid conditions: cross-sectional study of 502 649 UK Biobank participants

Stefan Siebert  1 , Donald M Lyall  2 , Daniel F Mackay  2 , Duncan Porter  1 , Iain B McInnes  1 , Naveed Sattar  3 , Jill P Pell  2
Affiliations

Characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis and its association with major comorbid conditions: cross-sectional study of 502 649 UK Biobank participants

Stefan Siebert et al. RMD Open. .

Abstract

Introduction: To characterise the detailed phenotypic and comorbid characteristics of participants with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the large population-based UK Biobank, thereby enabling future longitudinal analyses.

Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional study using baseline data from the unique UK Biobank resource (n=502 649). RA was based on self-report, and type of medication was used as a proxy measure of valid diagnosis. Participants with and without RA were compared in terms of sociodemographic, lifestyle and other disease-related risk factors. Logistic regression models were used to determine whether participants with RA were more likely to report comorbid conditions, and whether this varied by RA severity. The models were adjusted for potential confounders and lifestyle risk factors.

Results: At baseline, 5657 (1.13%) eligible UK Biobank participants reported RA of whom 2849 (0.57%) had medically treated RA (median duration=10 years). Prevalence was significantly higher among female, South Asian and socioeconomically deprived participants. Participants with RA were significantly more likely to report diabetes (covariate-adjusted OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.32, p<0.01), hypertension (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.21 to 1.27, p<0.001) and cardiovascular disease (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.39 to 1.67, p<0.001).

Conclusions: UK Biobank provides extensive data concerning RA population-level comorbidity and risk factors. The frequency, distribution and characteristics of participants reporting RA in UK Biobank are largely consistent with other studies. It provides a unique opportunity to interrogate biomarkers, genetic data, detailed imaging and linkage to clinical records at the population level across primary and secondary care.

Keywords: DMARDs (biologic); DMARDs (synthetic); Epidemiology; Rheumatoid Arthritis.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Symmons DP. Epidemiology of rheumatoid arthritis: determinants of onset, persistence and outcome. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol 2002;16:707–22. 10.1053/berh.2002.0257 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Young A, Koduri G, Batley M et al. . Mortality in rheumatoid arthritis. Increased in the early course of disease, in ischaemic heart disease and in pulmonary fibrosis. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2007;46:350–7. - PubMed
    1. Choy E, Ganeshalingam K, Semb AG et al. . Cardiovascular risk in rheumatoid arthritis: recent advances in the understanding of the pivotal role of inflammation, risk predictors and the impact of treatment. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2014;53:2143–54. 10.1093/rheumatology/keu224. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Allen N, Sudlow C, Downey P et al. . UK Biobank: current status and what it means for epidemiology. Heal Policy Technol 2012;1:123–6. 10.1016/j.hlpt.2012.07.003 - DOI
    1. Townsend P. Townsend deprivation index. J Soc Policy 1987;16:126–46.

LinkOut - more resources