From our study, the pooled results of JAK monotherapy was found to have a clinically meaningful improvement in mental health compared to baseline/pre-treatment mental health. 

A videoconference-based group intervention aimed at reducing anxiety and other mental health symptoms in people with systemic sclerosis does not show immediate benefits but may have a delayed impact, study findings indicate.

Dana DiRenzo discusses the impact of rheumatic diseases on mental health, and treatments and tools that are available to help support patients with these conditions.

Pharmacotherapy for rheumatoid arthritis does not meaningfully improve mental health outcomes for the majority of patients, researchers report.

COVID-19 vaccination should be actively promoted for women with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, say researchers.

Rates of disease flare requiring treatment were 4.5% in people who discontinued for at least 10 days, 9.5% for those with a shorter duration of discontinuation, and 6.8% for those who continued treatment.

Currently approved for rheumatoid arthritis, cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes, and IL-1 receptor antagonist deficiency, anakinra may now be given to hospitalized adults with COVID-19 pneumonia requiring supplemental oxygen who are at risk for progression to severe respiratory failure and are likely to have elevated plasma soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) levels.

While vaccination is the “primary strategy” for protection against COVID-19, certain populations such as those on B cell-depleting agents may have a suboptimal response to vaccines, say Anthony Ocon (Rochester Regional Health, New York, USA) and team.

By contrast, there was no significant difference between the two arms in the number of patients in remission (CRP PMR-AS ≤1.5) at 24 weeks, nor in physical and mental component scores of the SF-36 or the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index.

The authors also observed that individuals living in the areas with the highest heat vulnerability index (HVI) – which takes into account proximity to hazards (heat), and socioeconomic, occupational, health, and housing conditions that would predispose a population to adverse effects from climate changes – were significantly more likely to be hospitalized than those in areas with the lowest HVI.

In all, positive SARS-CoV-2 tests were reported in 16.9% of adolescents with RMDs who were vaccinated in February–December 2021 and in 51.9% of those who were not vaccinated.

In accordance with previous studies, the authors found that vaccination was associated with less severe COVID-19, with a higher proportion of severe versus nonsevere cases occurring in individuals who were unvaccinated at the time of infection (78.4% of 399 vs 59.5% of 1050).

Fatigue may follow one of four trajectories in people with early rheumatoid arthritis but overall is associated with increased pain, poor mental health, and poor sleep quality, irrespective of disease activity, Belgian researchers report.

TNF inhibitors have good long-term effectiveness and are well tolerated in HIV-positive individuals with rheumatic diseases, researchers report.

Adverse events were reported by 90% of participants who received botulinum toxin A and 80% of those who received placebo, most commonly base-of-thumb pain (20 vs 37%), thenar muscle motor deficit (47 vs 7%), and other musculoskeletal pain (17 vs 20%).

Furthermore, the National Health Service (NHS) England recommended that patients be prescribed belimumab prior to rituximab, which made it an inappropriate comparator.

The researchers found that both treatments also improved general wellbeing, mental health-related quality of life, and sleep disturbance relative to usual care, while PEP additionally led to significant reductions in depression and work disability and a significant increase in valued life activities.

Depression in patients with incident rheumatoid arthritis is associated with a sixfold increased risk for mortality, delegates were told at the EULAR 2022 Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Yoshiya Tanaka (University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Japan) and colleagues evaluated the effectiveness of the drug in the phase 2/3 OHZORA trial, which included 381 individuals who had shown an inadequate response to methotrexate monotherapy.