Weight loss doesn't halt disability progression in RA

Written by Medha Baranwal Baranwal Published On 2018-05-02T19:10:14+05:30 | Updated On 2 May 2018 7:10 PM IST

The study was conducted by Joshua Baker, MD, MSCE, of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues, to evaluate associations between obesity, weight loss, and worsening of disability in rheumatoid arthritis patients. For this, the researchers examined information on 23,323 patients with rheumatoid arthritis from the National Data Bank of the Rheumatic Diseases (Forward) and 1697 from the Veterans Affairs RA registry (VARA).

On the basis of the study, the researchers inferred that:

Disability scores were higher among severely obese patients compared to overweight

Patients who were severely obese had a greater risk of progressive disability compared to overweight patients

Weight loss was also associated with a greater risk of disability.

"We believe that this is because when people get older and acquire illnesses, they tend to lose weight. Therefore, the important weight loss in this study is unintentional," said Dr. Baker. "So, this study suggests that patients with rheumatoid arthritis and obesity would benefit from intentional weight loss through a comprehensive management strategy; however, when we see that someone is losing weight without trying, it's probably a poor prognostic sign, especially if they are already thin."

The results of the study are significant, considering the increasing rate of obesity. "While patients and rheumatologists may be focused mostly on disease activity, we should also consider this common condition, which can contribute to problems that are usually attributed to the arthritis itself," said Dr. Baker. "In addition, unintentional weight loss should alert us that the patient may be becoming frail and is at risk for developing new disability."

The researchers concluded that severe obesity is linked to more rapid progression of disability in RA patients. Weight loss is also associated with worsening disability, related to development of disease‐related or age-related frailty.

As new therapies and approaches to weight loss become available, these results will help promote their use in patients with arthritis, to help prevent disability over the long-term. The findings may also encourage health providers to recognize unintentional weight loss as a poor prognostic sign and refer patients for strength training, physical therapy, and other interventions to prevent disability.

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Source : With inputs from ACR

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Medha Baranwal Baranwal