Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Education City, Doha, Qatar.
Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
PLoS One. 2018 Dec 19;13(12):e0208240. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208240. eCollection 2018.
There is limited information on the epidemiology and treatment patterns of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) across the Arab region. We aim in this study to describe the demographic characteristics, clinical profile, and treatment patterns of patients of Arab ancestry with RA.
This is a cross sectional study of 895 patients with established rheumatoid arthritis enrolled from five sites (Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and United Arab Emirates). Demographic characteristics, clinical profile, and treatment patterns are compared between the five countries.
The majority of our patients are women, have an average disease duration of 10 years, are married and non-smokers, with completed secondary education. We report a high (>80%) ever-use of methotrexate (MTX) and steroids among our RA population, while the ever-use of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and TNF-inhibitors average around 67% and 33%, respectively. There are variations in RA treatment use between the five country sites. Highest utilization of steroids is identified in Jordan and KSA (p-value < 0.001), while the highest ever-use of TNF-inhibitors is reported in KSA (p-value < 0.001).
Disparities in usage of RA treatments among Arab patients are noted across the five countries. National gross domestic product (GDP), as well as some other unique features in each country likely affect these. Developing treatment guidelines specific to this region could contribute in delivering standardized therapies to RA patients.
关于阿拉伯地区类风湿关节炎（RA）的流行病学和治疗模式，信息有限。本研究旨在描述具有阿拉伯血统的 RA 患者的人口统计学特征、临床特征和治疗模式。
这是一项横断面研究，共纳入了来自五个地点（约旦、黎巴嫩、卡塔尔、沙特阿拉伯王国（KSA）和阿拉伯联合酋长国）的 895 名确诊的类风湿关节炎患者。比较了五个国家的人口统计学特征、临床特征和治疗模式。
我们的大多数患者是女性，平均病程为 10 年，已婚且不吸烟，具有中等教育程度。我们报告说，我们的 RA 患者中超过 80%的人曾经使用过甲氨蝶呤（MTX）和类固醇，而使用过改善病情的抗风湿药物（DMARDs）和 TNF 抑制剂的比例分别约为 67%和 33%。五个国家的 RA 治疗方法存在差异。在约旦和 KSA，类固醇的使用率最高（p 值<0.001），而 KSA 报告的 TNF 抑制剂使用率最高（p 值<0.001）。
在五个国家中，阿拉伯患者的 RA 治疗方法使用存在差异。国民生产总值（GDP）以及每个国家的其他一些独特特征可能会影响这些差异。制定针对该地区的治疗指南可能有助于为 RA 患者提供标准化治疗。
