Characteristics of Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis in Turkey: Results From the Turkish League Against Rheumatism Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry

Ajda BAL1, Şebnem ATAMAN2, Hatice BODUR3, Aylin REZVANİ4, Nurdan PAKER5, Nurettin TASTEKİN6, Altınay GÖKSEL KARATEPE7, Pınar BORMAN8, Mahmut YENER9, Kemal NAS10, Melek SEZGİN11, Pelin YAZGAN12, İbrahim TEKEOĞLU10, Beril DOĞU13, Zuhal ALTAY14, Mehmet KIRNAP15, Alev GÜRGAN16, Ali GÜR17, Sami HİZMETLİ18, Zafer GÜNENDİ19, Rana ERDEM20, Hatice UĞURLU21, Elem İNAL22, Neşe ÖLMEZ16, Erkan KOZANOĞLU23, Öznur ÖKEN24, Sumru ÖZEL24, Ümit DÜNDAR25, Ayşen AKINCI8, Cihat ÖZTÜRK26, Konçuy SİVRİOĞLU27, Mehmet Tuncay DURUÖZ28, Ece AYDOĞ29, Erhan ÇAPKIN30, Lale ALTAN27, Deniz EVCİK31, Oğuz DURMUŞ32, İlker YAĞCI28, Ömer Faruk ŞENDUR33, Filiz Meryem SERTPOYRAZ34, Ahmet ÖZGÜL35, Kazım ŞENEL36, Kazım ÇAPACI26

1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dışkapı Traning and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
2Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
3Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
4Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Bezm-i Alem Valide Sultan Vakıf Gureba Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
5Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, İstanbul Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
6Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey
7Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, İzmir Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey
8Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
9Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Süleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey
10Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey
11Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey
12Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of İstanbul Bilim University, İstanbul, Turkey
13Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Şişli Etfal Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
14Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of İnönü University, Malatya, Turkey
15Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
16Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, İzmir Atatürk Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey
17Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey
18Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey
19Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
20Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Ahi Evran University, Kırşehir, Turkey
21Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Meram Medical Faculty of Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey
22Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, İstanbul Haydarpaşa Numune Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
23Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Çukurova University, Adana, Turkey
24Ankara Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital
25Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyon, Turkey
26Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Ege University, İzmir, Turkey
27Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Uludağ University, Bursa, Turkey
28Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey
29Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Yeditepe University, İstanbul, Turkey
30Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey
31Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ankara University, Vocational School of Haymana, Ankara, Turkey
32Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, GATA Haydarpaşa Training Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
33Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, Turkey
34Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, İzmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey
35Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Akay Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
36Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey

Keywords: Patient characteristics, registry, rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Objectives: This study investigates the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Turkey, and attempts to identify strategies for the prevention, treatment, and support of RA.
Patients and methods: A total of 2,359 patients (1,966 females, 393 males; mean age 51.6±12.5 years; range 18 to 75 years) with RA from 36 centers across Turkey, who were recorded in the Turkish League Against Rheumatism (TLAR) RA Registry between September 2007 and March 2011, were evaluated. Patients’demographic and clinical data were recorded. Disease activity, functional status, and radiographic damage were measured using the Disease Activity Score 28, the Health Assessment Questionnaire, and van der Heijde modified Sharp scoring method.
Results: The mean duration of academic education received was 5.2±3.8 years, and 74.6% of the patients were homemakers. Non-biological disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs were used by 91.0% of the patients, while 10.2% used biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. The mean Disease Activity Score 28, Health Assessment Questionnaire, and Sharp scores were 4.0±1.4, 0.38±0.37, and 31.2±57.1, respectively. Of the patients, 17.8% were in remission and 14.1% had low disease activity rates, while 42.7% and 25.5% had moderate and high disease activity rates.
Conclusion: The majority of patients with RA in Turkey are middle-aged homemakers. Despite the high rates of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs use, the majority of patients had moderate and high disease activity. These findings indicate that treatment needs of RA patients are not met sufficiently.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Financial Disclosure

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.