Prevalence of anaemia in a cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients in India

Priyank Yadav; Mithun CB; Vishal Marwaha; Harikrishnan B.; Singhal Anuj; Suman Kumar Pramanik

Volume : IX, Issue : III, March - 2019

Prevalence of anaemia in a cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients in India

Priyank Yadav, Mithun Cb, Vishal Marwaha, Harikrishnan B. , Singhal Anuj, Suman Kumar Pramanik

Abstract :

In this study, we investigated the actual prevalence of anaemia in Indian rheumatoid arthritis(RA) patients.We also looked for its impact on RA disease activity and the relation of haemoglobin levels with therapeutic strategies. This was a prospective study including 200 RA patients attending the rheumatology OPD of a tertiary care centre in North India. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data of patients were examined retrospectively and compared between anaemic and non–anaemic RA patients. The prevalence of anaemia was 33% in the study population. Majority of our patients had anaemia of chronic disease (ACD) (24.7%). Male gender and high disease activity were significantly associated with anaemia (p–value of 0.008 and <0.001 respectively). The use of DMARDs was associated with a reduced likelihood of patients being anaemic (p–value 0.012). Our study results suggested a need for proper treatment to reduce the risk of anaemia in RA patients.