Abstract
This retrospective cohort study aimed to assess the demographic and clinical characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Emirati patients attending Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, a large tertiary center in the Middle East. In this study, 414 Emirati patients with RA were evaluated over a 3-year period from April 2015 to April 2018. All patients fulfilled the 2010 RA ACR/EULAR criteria and were assessed for demographic and clinical characteristics. The estimated RA prevalence rate in our population cohort was 2.72%. Females showed predominance (80%) with a higher body mass index (31.4 ± 6.61, P = 0.0001) compared to males (28.8 ± 6.03, P = 0.0001). The most frequent comorbidity observed was dyslipidemia (43.5%) followed by hypertension (37.9%), diabetes mellitus (34.5%), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (33.1%). Xerophthalmia was the most frequent extra-articular manifestation. Rheumatoid factor and anti-citrullinated peptide were detected in 63.3% and 41.5% patients, respectively, while both were present in 33.3% of patients. Methotrexate, adalimumab, and rituximab were the most frequently prescribed disease modifying agents. In this study, we describe disease features that are unique to United Arab Emirates (UAE) patients and demonstrate that RA has a significant disease burden. Our findings highlight the need for a RA national registry to improve the quality of care of these patients in UAE.
Highlights
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is the most common form of chronic in ammatory arthritis worldwide [1]
Given the paucity of rheumatoid arthritis data in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), we analyzed the ndings of the 414 Emirati participants only. e estimated rheumatoid arthritis prevalence rate among patients who visited the Internal Medicine and Rheumatology Clinics at the center in the given time period, based on our analysis was 2.72% (Table 1)
We report the rst comprehensive analysis on a large cohort of Emirati patients attending Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, one of the largest tertiary hospitals in the region
Summary
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is the most common form of chronic in ammatory arthritis worldwide [1]. Genetic and environmental factors in uence the risk of RA. A combination of epigenetic modi cations and environmental exposures results in a cascade of events inducing synovitis and consequent destructive arthritis [1]. E disease, which eventually leads to deformities and disability, has become a public health concern principally in the Gulf countries, where RA is becoming more recognized. Several RA cohorts report variability in disease characteristics in di erent populations [2]. Data on RA patients from the United Arab Emirates are limited. We did not nd any reports in literature on RA a ecting solely the native Emirati population
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