Abstract

Background and objectives: The most prevalent and chronic form of systemic autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by persistent inflammation, deteriorating joint function with time, increasing comorbidity, and increased mortality. The aim of this study was to know the frequency of joints involved, to know the prevalence of seropositive Rheumatoid arthritis, and evaluation of demographic features of the patients with Rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was undertaken on 110 patients at Rizgary teaching hospital in Erbil city. From January 2022 and January 2023. We evaluated and diagnosed the patients. Serological investigations including Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide and rheumatoid factor were done for all of the patients. Results: One hundred ten patients 80% were female and 20 % were male. The mean age (SD) was 51.39 (12.6) years, majority of the patients were obese (45.5%). Only 14.5% of the sample were smokers, and rate of illiteracy was 60%. The most common joints involved were metacarpo-pharyngeal joint 73.6% followed by wrist joint 63.6%. Most common comorbid disease was hypertension 29.1% followed by diabetes mellitus, and thyroid disease (15.5%, 10%) respectively. Prevalence of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis was 80.9%. Majority of the patients used methotrexate, while the most common biologic used by the patients was etanercept 12.7%. Conclusions: Our rheumatoid arthritis patients' demographics, joint involvement, and serological characteristics matched those of some regional and international studies, however we discovered a higher proportion of women and a higher percentage of illiteracy.

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