Genetic Information Useful for Predicting Severity of Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Genetic Information Useful for Predicting Severity of Rheumatoid Arthritis

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Oct 30 - Even when other data are available for a

patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), genetic information is still useful

in predicting disease severity, according to a report published in the

October issue of The Journal of Rheumatology.

Several reports have suggested that genetic factors are useful in predicting

RA severity or outcome. However, it was unclear if genetic information is

useful for patients in whom extensive clinical, sociodemographic, and

immunologic data are already available.

To address this, Dr. Lindsey A. Criswell, from the University of California

at San Francisco, and colleagues tested 146 women with RA for two genetic

factors that have been linked to RA severity--the HLA DRB1 shared epitope

and TNF microsatellite allele 11. Radiographic imaging was used to assess

disease severity.

Even after controlling for all of the nongenetic variables, genetic

information contributed significantly to the prediction of disease severity

(p = 0.0019). Women who carried both genetic factors were 7.6 times more

likely to exhibit erosive disease than women who carried neither.

The current findings indicate that genetic information is still valuable in

predicting RA severity and outcome, the researchers note. Still, " further

research is required to extend these results to other RA populations and to

clarify the relative costs and clinical usefulness of genetic and nongenetic

prognostic information, " they add.

J Rheumatol 2002;29:2068-2073.