Poor glycemic control enhances the disease activity in the RA patients with undiagnosed diabetes—a cross-sectional clinical study

Abstract

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune disorder, characterized by systemic inflammation and swollen joints, establishes itself as a critical threat. A pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α is a well-known driver of RA pathogenesis and at the same time predisposes to insulin resistance through signal impediment which ultimately paves the way for type 2 diabetes (T2DM). However, in patients with RA, T2DM remains significantly undiagnosed or undertreated, apparently which increases the risk of developing cardio-metabolic comorbidities. This study aimed to evaluate the glycemic status among RA patients and its association with disease activity. Result: One hundred fifty inpatients RA cases according to ACR/EULAR standards were included in the cross-sectional study who have an average age of 45.4±12.15 years and a median and interquartile period of RA of 2.25 years and 0.48–6 years, respectively. We discovered that 36% of people had T2DM, 26% were prediabetic, and 38% were non-diabetic. Age was shown to be significantly correlated with DM frequency in RA patients (p=0.007). There were 28 patients with elevated disease activity (19%) and 60 patients with low disease activity (40%) in this study. No substantial associations were found in the presence of DM with gender, anti-CCP, RF, disease duration, or DAS28. Conclusion: RA patients are more likely to experience diabetes, and resultantly a high index of notion must be kept. Clinician should be aware about the affliction of undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes in RA patients. Furthermore, keeping an eye on glycemic control in RA patients could prevent metabolic and cardiovascular comorbidities in those susceptible patients.