Higher RA Disease Activity May Accelerate Renal Impairment

TOPLINE:

Higher rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity is associated with an accelerated kidney function decline and increased risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages G3a and G3b.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers analyzed data from the CorEvitas RA registry, a prospective observational cohort in the United States, between 2001 and 2022, to evaluate the longitudinal association between RA disease activity and changes in kidney function.
• They included 31,129 patients with RA (median age, 58 years; 76.3% women) who had a baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m² and received treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).
• The participants were categorized into those in remission (n = 6647) and those with low (n = 10,028), moderate (n = 8548), and high (n = 5906) disease activity based on the time-averaged Clinical Disease Activity Index and followed for a median duration of 3.5 years.
• The primary outcome was a longitudinal change in eGFR, and the secondary outcomes were the development of CKD stage G3a (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m²) and stage G3b (eGFR < 45 mL/min/1.73 m²).

TAKEAWAY:

• Higher RA disease activity was associated with a faster decline in eGFR, with those having moderate and high RA disease activity experiencing an additional mean annual decline of 0.17 mL/min/1.73 m² and 0.18 mL/min/1.73 m², respectively, compared with those in remission.
• The decline in annual eGFR was even more accelerated when patients had consistently high disease activity since the time of enrolment (−0.43 mL/min/1.73 m²).
• Patients with high RA disease activity had a 1.27 times (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.27; 95% CI, 1.05-1.52) higher risk of developing CKD stage G3a and a 1.93 times (aHR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.16-3.20) higher risk for CKD stage G3b, compared with those in remission.

IN PRACTICE:

“This study suggests that controlling disease activity may potentially contribute to preserving kidney function in patients with RA,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Sho Fukui, MD, Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation, and Immunity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and was published online on August 21, 2024, in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

LIMITATIONS:

This study relied on serum creatinine and not cystatin C to estimate kidney function. It also did not collect information on the severity of comorbidities, which may have introduced residual confounding. Further studies are warranted to check the effect of DMARD therapy on renal function.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Some authors reported serving as scientific advisors or consultants, receiving consulting fees or salary support, or having other ties with pharmaceutical companies.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.