Remission in rheumatoid arthritis harder for the overweight

Overweight and obese people are less likely to achieve successful remission in early rheumatoid arthritis compared to those of normal weight, says a study presented at the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism.

Scientists looked at 346 people who had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis for less than 12 months. Those who were obese or overweight needed 2.4 times more anti-TNF therapy throughout the study than people of a normal weight, and still didn’t achieve similar remission outcomes.

“Obesity and rheumatoid arthritis are both on the rise, with devastating effects on individuals and society as a whole,” says researcher Elisa Gremese from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome. “These data reinforce the link between obesity and inflammation, and establish that BMI is one of the few modifiable variables influencing the major outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis. There is an urgent need to address the issues of overweight and obesity to improve patients’ chance of successful remission.”