Factors linked to disease activity in a French cohort of patients with spondyloarthropathy.
OBJECTIVE
To identify risk factors associated with disease activity, in a group of patients with spondyloarthropathy (SpA) living in France.


METHODS
Patients fulfilling the ESSG or Amor criteria for SpA were enrolled in a cross sectional multicenter study. Disease activity was assessed using a French version of the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify a link between BASDAI and disease characteristics, genetic factors, and environmental factors such as infectious events, mental stress, working conditions, and dietary factors.


RESULTS
We studied 293 patients. On multivariate analysis, BASDAI appeared to be mainly linked to disease duration (negative correlation), the absence of sacroiliitis, and the "frequency of meals taken out of home" (negative correlation).


CONCLUSIONS
Disease activity in a French population of patients with SpA appeared to be linked mainly to a shorter disease duration and a peripheral pattern of arthritis, as well as to dietary habits. The underlying links between this last environmental factor and disease activity remained hypothetical and could only reflect a nontested social factor.
Service de Rhumatologie, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Créteil, France.
P
P
Claudepierre
J
J
Sibilia
F
F
Roudot-Thoraval
R M
RM
Flipo
D
D
Wendling
P
P
Goupille
F
F
Eulry
D
D
Clerc
J M
JM
Berthelot
P
P
Vergne
Y
Y
Allanore
B
B
Larget-Piet
X
X
Chevalier
D000328:Adult; D001168:Arthritis / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012446:Sacroiliac Joint; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology
D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen