Abstract
Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory, a multisystem disease characterized by progressive, irreversible joint and bone destruction leading to disability, loss of function, significant morbidity, and premature mortality. Family history of rheumatoid arthritis is a strong influence for RA. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between family history and personality traits of patients with RA.
Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was carried out on 60 Saudi patients with newly or previously diagnosed RA according to the 2010 American College of Rheumatology-European League Against Rheumatism Criteria.. They all were followed from the month of January 2017 to December 2020 in the Rheumatology Clinic of King Majmaah Hospital (KKMH).
Results: The mean age of the patients was 47.87 +/- 11.55 years. The preponderance of all them included female 52 vs.8; female: male ratio, 6.5:1; 23.3% of the patients had a family history of RA. The incidence rates of extra-articular manifestations of RA and joint deformities were 18(30%) and 8 (13.3), respectively. The DAS28 score for 37 patients (61.7%) was between 3.2 and 5.1, and 23 patients (38.3%) had a score >5.1. Further, 66.7% and 78.3% of the patients were affirmative for rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) correspondingly.
Conclusion: Positive family history was more common among rural RA patients than among other RA populations. No significant association was observed between family history and characteristic features of the studied groups.