AB0244 INFLUENCE OF BIOLOGICAL DRUGS ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
Authors: S. Jriri, S. Boussaid, S. Rekik, M. Abbes, M. Ben Majdouba, S. Jemmali, H. Sahli, M. Elleuch
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2021)

Background: The level of the Health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is often negleglected in their medical care. While, theese patients are suffering from a precarious quality of life, resulting from pain, impaired physical function and fatigue. The use of biological agents for treating this disease is then a challenge, leading to the possibility of reducing the consequences of the disease. Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to compare the level of HRQL in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during therapy applying disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) with conventional synthetics (csDMARDs) or with csDMARDs in combination with biological drugs (bDMARDs). Methods: The study involved 120 patients with RA, divided into two groups: group I –treated using csDMARDs (combination therapy: methotrexate and salazopyrine), group II – using csDMARDs in association with bDMARDs which included TNF inhibitors (etanercept and adalimumab). All the studied patients were surveyed with the use of the following questionnaires: the short-form health survey (SF-36 ) for HRQL that assesses eight domains: functional capacity (ten items), physical aspects (four items), pain (two items), general health (five items), vitality (four items), social aspects (two items), emotional issues (three items) and mental health (five items), in addiction to one item to compare current health status and that of the previous year, The AIMS2-SF , and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). The questionnaires were filled out at the consultation after patient’s consent.The 28-Joint Disease Activity Score (DAS-28) was calculated. Results: Group I consisted of 72 persons including 55 women and 17 men with a mean age of 58.4 years. Group II contaned 48 patients where females predominated (sex ratio: 0.3), the mean age was 52.4 years. The majority of patients (53.3%) had been diagnosed with RA for more than five years. Most of the SF-36 domains showed significant improvement in the second group (p&lt;0.01), highlighting the social aspects, pain, physical functioning, emotional issues, vitality and physical aspects. The mean score of HAQ II decreased from 1.97 up to 1.23 with biological therapy (p&lt;0.01). The highest AIMS scores were comparatively in the two groups (I vs II): in social activity (6.49±1.93 vs 6.23±1.56), pain (4.70±2.04 vs 4.01±2), depression (4.70±2.23 vs 4.66±2.03), and physical activity (4.03±2.10 vs 4.01±2.08). The DAS-28 value, the number of swollen joints, and the duration of morning stiffness were significantly smaller among patients from group II (P=0.04). After logistical regression,treatement with biotherapy was isolated as a fundamental independent factor influencing the mentel component of SF-36 scale with an OR of 1.59. Conclusion: we conclude that the use of biologic therapy in patients with RA proved to be an important pharmacological strategy for improving HRQL and functional capacity as assessed by the HAQ II and SF-36 instruments.The intensity of the activity of RA as well as experiencing pain and the duration of morning stiffness were smaller among patients applying csDMARDs plus bDMARDs compared with patients treated only with csDMARDs. References: [1]Blair, H. A., &amp; Deeks, E. D. (2016). Infliximab Biosimilar (CT-P13; Infliximab-dyyb): A Review in Autoimmune Inflammatory Diseases. BioDrugs, 30(5), 469–480. [2]Araújo, F., Gonçalves, J., &amp; Fonseca, J. E. (2016). Biosimilar DMARDs: What Does the Future Hold? Drugs, 76(6), 629–637. Disclosure of Interests: None declared