To report the 5-year outcome of a large prospective cohort of patients with very early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to identify factors predictive of outcome.
Patients were recruited if they had early arthritis of < 6 months' duration, had a high probability of developing RA, and had never been prescribed disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) or steroids. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors that predict outcome.
We included 813 patients from December 2002 to April 2005. Age was 48.1 ± 12.6 years, delay before referral 103.1 ± 52.4 days, 28-joint Disease Activity Score (DAS28) 5.1 ± 1.3, Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) 1.0 ± 0.7; 45.8% and 38.7% had rheumatoid factor or antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP), respectively; 22% had hand or foot erosions; 78.5% fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism criteria for RA at baseline and 93.8% during followup. At 5 years, 573 patients were evaluated. The outcome was mild for most patients: disease activity (median DAS28 = 2.5) and HAQ disability (median 0.3) were well controlled over time; 50.6% achieved DAS28 remission and 64.7% low disease activity. Radiographic progression was low (2.9 Sharp unit/year) and only a few patients required joint surgery. Nevertheless, some patients developed new comorbidities. During the 5 years, 82.7% of patients had received at least 1 DMARD (methotrexate, 65.9%), 18.3% a biological DMARD, and about 60% prednisone at least once. Anti-CCP was the best predictor of remaining in the cohort for 5 years, of prescription of synthetic or biologic DMARD, and of radiographic progression.
The 5-year outcome of an early RA cohort in the 2000s was described. Anti-CCP was a robust predictor of outcome. The generally good 5-year outcome could be related to early referral and early effective treatment, key processes in the management of early RA in daily practice.