title: Comorbidity profile among patients with rheumatoid arthritis and the impact on prescriptions trend.
abstract: Comorbid conditions play a pivotal role in rheumatoid arthritis management and outcomes. We estimated the percentage of comorbid illness among rheumatoid arthritis patients and explored the relationship between this comorbidity and different prescriptions. A cross-sectional study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in three centers in Saudi Arabia was carried out. Comorbidity and antirheumatoid medication regimens prescribed were recorded on a specially designed Performa. The association between comorbidity and different drugs was analyzed. A total of 340 patients were included. The most comorbidities were hypertension 122 (35.9%), diabetes 105 (30.9%), osteoporosis 88 (25.8%), and dyslipidemia in 66 (19.4). The most common drug prescribed was prednisolone in 275 (80.8%) patients followed by methotrexate in 253 (74.4%) and biological therapy in 142 (41.5%) patients. Glucocorticoids were prescribed considerably more frequently in hypertensive and diabetic patients as well as in patients with osteoporosis and dyslipidemia. Most patients with rheumatoid arthritis suffered from comorbid diseases.
authors: Department of internal Medicine, Taif University, Taif, PO Box 11153, Saudi Arabia.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Al-Bishri
authors: Sm
authors: S
authors: Attar
authors: Nawal
authors: N
authors: Bassuni
authors: Yasser
authors: Y
authors: Al-Nofaiey
authors: Hamed
authors: H
authors: Qutbuddeen
authors: Salma
authors: S
authors: Al-Harthi
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Subahi
keywords: NSAIDs; RA; comorbidity; diabetes; glucocorticoids; hypertension; rheumatoid arthritis
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