Abbott Presents Data Exploring Relationship of Physical Function to Inflammation and Structural Damage in Rheumatoid Arthritis
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The study has shown that patients with early RA (less than three years), inflammation was more strongly correlated to worsening physical function than in patients with long-standing RA. Structural damage showed stronger correlation to worsening physical function in long-standing RA compared to early RA.
"We know that RA is a progressive disease, and for years we've hypothesized about what is driving these changes in physical function," said Primary Investigator Martin Bergman, M.D., clinical associate professor of medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine and chief of the division of rheumatology at Taylor Hospital. "These data are important because they can help advance our understanding of how RA changes over time."
RA is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects approximately 1.3 million people in the U.S. Typically, RA is characterized by pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints of hands, feet and wrists and often leads to the erosion of joints.
"These data and analyses provide additional insights into RA which we hope will inform better patient care in the future," said Eugene Sun, M.D., vice president, Global Pharmaceutical Development, Abbott.
Analysis Methodology
Specifically, the analysis evaluated data from two HUMIRA trials - PREMIER (patients with early RA) and DE019 (patients with long-standing RA). There were 908 patients with disease duration three years or less and 507 patients with disease duration of more than three years. The study assessed the relationship of physical functioning with inflammation and structural damage.
Commonly used methods of patient reported measures calculated physical functioning. The measures include the 20 question Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and two components of the well-known, health-related quality of life questionnaire SF-36: the physical function scale (PF) and the physical component summary (PCS).
Inflammation was measured by C-Reactive Protein (CRP) levels and structural damage was measured by modified total Sharp scores (mTSS), a well-established method of assessing structural joint damage.
In the early RA disease group, all indicators of physical function were significantly correlated to CRP readings measuring inflammation (HAQ, PCS, and PF correlation co-efficients of 0.395, -0.288 and -0.357, respectively [p value = <0.05 for all]), but none correlated to mTSS scores measuring structural damage. In the long-standing RA disease group, mTSS was significantly correlated with physical functioning measures (HAQ, PCS, and PF correlation co-efficients of 0.238, -0.119, and -0.137, respectively [p value = <0.01]). The inflammation CRP levels were also correlated to physical functioning in the long-standing RA group, but this correlation was weaker than in the early RA group. Additionally, a linear regression analysis, a second analysis of the data, showed that mTSS affects HAQ in long-standing disease, but not early RA.
Full Prescribing Information for HUMIRA is available at http://www.rxabbott.com/pdf/humira.pdf.
"We know that RA is a progressive disease, and for years we've hypothesized about what is driving these changes in physical function," said Primary Investigator Martin Bergman, M.D., clinical associate professor of medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine and chief of the division of rheumatology at Taylor Hospital. "These data are important because they can help advance our understanding of how RA changes over time."
RA is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects approximately 1.3 million people in the U.S. Typically, RA is characterized by pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints of hands, feet and wrists and often leads to the erosion of joints.
"These data and analyses provide additional insights into RA which we hope will inform better patient care in the future," said Eugene Sun, M.D., vice president, Global Pharmaceutical Development, Abbott.
Analysis Methodology
Specifically, the analysis evaluated data from two HUMIRA trials - PREMIER (patients with early RA) and DE019 (patients with long-standing RA). There were 908 patients with disease duration three years or less and 507 patients with disease duration of more than three years. The study assessed the relationship of physical functioning with inflammation and structural damage.
Commonly used methods of patient reported measures calculated physical functioning. The measures include the 20 question Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and two components of the well-known, health-related quality of life questionnaire SF-36: the physical function scale (PF) and the physical component summary (PCS).
Inflammation was measured by C-Reactive Protein (CRP) levels and structural damage was measured by modified total Sharp scores (mTSS), a well-established method of assessing structural joint damage.
In the early RA disease group, all indicators of physical function were significantly correlated to CRP readings measuring inflammation (HAQ, PCS, and PF correlation co-efficients of 0.395, -0.288 and -0.357, respectively [p value = <0.05 for all]), but none correlated to mTSS scores measuring structural damage. In the long-standing RA disease group, mTSS was significantly correlated with physical functioning measures (HAQ, PCS, and PF correlation co-efficients of 0.238, -0.119, and -0.137, respectively [p value = <0.01]). The inflammation CRP levels were also correlated to physical functioning in the long-standing RA group, but this correlation was weaker than in the early RA group. Additionally, a linear regression analysis, a second analysis of the data, showed that mTSS affects HAQ in long-standing disease, but not early RA.
Full Prescribing Information for HUMIRA is available at http://www.rxabbott.com/pdf/humira.pdf.
