Early menopause is associated with higher disease activity independent of inflammation in postmenopausal-onset rheumatoid arthritis.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Early menopause (EM, age ≤ 45 years) is associated with an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We aimed to investigate its impact on disease characteristics in RA patients.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included natural post-menopausal RA patients from an observational RA cohort recruited between January 2015 and October 2023. Demographic characteristics and clinical data were collected. Patients were divided into EM and usual menopause (UM, menopause age > 45 years) groups. Patients-reported outcomes (PROs, included patient global assessment of disease activity [PtGA], pain visual analogue scale [VAS] and Stanford health assessment questionnaire disability index [HAQ-DI]), and PROs-associated indicators (included 28-joint tender joint coun

SUBMITTER: Ouyang ZM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11931845 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature