AB0157 PREVALENCE OF SARCOPENIA AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS PATIENTS
Authors: R. Ekici, A. Erden, B. Özdemir, S. C. Güven, B. Armagan, Ö. Karakaş, K. Gok, A. Omma, O. Küçükşahin, S. Erten
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2021)

Background: The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of sarcopenia at the time of diagnosis in RA patients, evaluate the effects of sarcopenia on RA disease activity, prognosis and examine the factors that may be associated with sarcopenia. Objectives: To determine the frequency of sarcopenia at the time of diagnosis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, assessing disease activity and factors that may be associated with sarcopenia and observe effects of treatment on sarcopenia. Methods: A prospective study was conducted on RA patients with newly diagnosed. Patients were evaluated twice, at the time of diagnosis and three months after the initiation of treatment. Demographic data, anthropometric measurements, disease activity scores and sarcopenia status were recorded. Sarcopenia was evaluated with grip strength and bioelectric impedance. The results were also compared with healthy volunteers. Results: Hand grip strength (p&lt;0.001), skeletal muscle mass (p=0.009) and skeletal muscle mass index (p=0.032) were found to be reduced in RA patients compared to the control group. The frequency of sarcopenia in RA at onset of diagnosis was found to be 31.5%. There was a significant decrease in the rate of sarcopenia after three months of treatment (31.5% versus 8.7%; p=0.046). Conclusion: Sarcopenia was found in approximately one third of the patients with newly diagnosed RA in our study. With treatment, sarcopenia improved significantly. RA patients should be evaluated in terms of sarcopenia besides evaluating joint and extra-articular findings at the time of diagnosis. Early detection and treatment planning may improve the quality of life. Figure 1. Distribution of skeletal muscle mass index (SMMI) and prevalence of sarcopenia in RA and control groups Table 1. Demographics, clinical features, anthropometric measurements and disease activity scores of sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic RA patients RA without sarcopenia n=37 RA with sarcopenia n=17 p Age, mean (SD), years 47,3 (12,8) 58,0 (16) 0,011* Gender, female, n (% ) 27 (73) 9 (52,9) 0,215 Marital status, married, n (% ) 34 (91,9) 13 (76,5) 0,258 Tobacco consumption, n (% ) Active smoker 10 (27) 5 (29,4) 0,086 Ex-smoker 8 (21,6) 8 (47,1) Never smoker 19 (51,4) 4 (23,5) Alcohol consumption, n (% ) Active drinker 2 (5,4) 2 (11,8) 0,244 Ex-drinker 0 (0,0) 1 (5,9) Never drinker 35 (94,6) 14 (82,4) Occupation, n (% ) Worker 15 (40,5) 12 (70,6) 0,060 Height, mean (SD), meter 1,6 (0,1) 1,6 (0,1) 0,664 Weight, mean (SD), kg 80,6 (17,7) 65,3 (8,6) &lt;0,001* BMI, mean (SD), kg/m 2 31,4 (7,3) 24,9 (3,2) &lt;0,001* Obese, n (% ) 20 (54,1) 2 (11,8) 0,006* Waist circumference, mean (SD), cm 97,1 (14,2) 89,3 (12,8) 0,058 Hip circumference, mean (SD), cm 108,1 (12,7) 96,6 (5,1) 0,001* Calf circumference, mean (SD), cm 35,4 (5,1) 29,6 (4,0) &lt;0,001* Triceps skin thickness, median (min-max), mm 22 (8-36) 15 (6-31) 0,022* Loss of muscle strength, n (% ) Right 10 (27,0) 9 (52,9) 0,076 Left 12 (32,4) 10 (58,8) 0,081 Dominant hand, right, n (% ) 33 (89,2) 13 (76,5) 0,418 SMM, mean (SD ) 25,1 (5,8) 21,9 (4,7) 0,049* SMMI, mean (SD ) 9,6 (1,5) 8,2 (1,2) &lt;0,001* DAS 28 - CRP, median (min-max ) 4,4 (1,7-6,5) 4,4 (2,4-6,3) 0,860 SDAI, median (min-max ) 36,1 (8,8-113) 31,1 (17,1-113) 0,668 CDAI, median (min-max ) 23 (0-48) 23 (6-39) 0,993 PrGA, median (min-max ) 6 (0-9) 5 (2-10) 0,627 PtGA, median (min-max ) 8 (0-10) 7 (4-10) 0,666 Presence of morning stiffness, n (% ) 32 (86,5) 14 (82,4) 0,999 Swollen joint count, median (min-max ) 2 (0-10) 4 (0-9) 0,423 Tender joint count, median (min-max ) 6 (0-20) 7 (0-18) 0,911 Disclosure of Interests: None declared