Investigating patient related outcomes as tools for predicting disease in individuals at risk for developing arthritis

Concept

According to the concept that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) develops across different phases long before the onset of clinical arthritis, studies for better characterisation and monitoring of risk factors for RA are of high importance. This kind of studies require the enrolment of individuals at risk for developing RA that are longitudinally and prospectively followed up. Dataset of clinical, patient-reported and laboratory / immunological variables will be used for clarifying the symptom burden of people at-risk, evaluate the relevance of PROs in monitoring and/or predicting RA development.

Facts and Figures

Project Lead
P Studenic
Medical University of Vienna (MUV)
paul.studenic@muv.ac.at
FOREUM research grant: €50,000
2020 - 2021

Meet the Team

P Studenic
Medical University of Vienna (MUV)
A Catrina
Karolinska Institutet
D Aletaha
Medical University of Vienna (MUV)
A H Hensvold
Karolinska Institutet
A Chatzidionysiou
Karolinska Institutet

Objectives

  • evaluate the symptom burden in a specified group of people at high risk (‘at‐risk”) for developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
  • test the ability of patient‐reported outcomes (PROs) as prediction tools for the development of RA in at‐risk individuals
  • analyze the usefulness of PROs to adequately mirror changes of symptoms in monitoring of at‐risk individuals

Patient Voice

The results of this study will provide a better characterisation of the restrictions in life and symptom burden in people with joint pain at‐risk for RA. It will provide a comprehensive overview of the ability of clinical and patient‐reported outcomes in monitoring at‐risk individuals and to detect symptom changes due to interventions. This will ultimately lead to earlier diagnosis, access to treatment and more profound evidence‐based information on the risk for developing RA.

Goals/Milestones

  • A comparative evaluation on disease/symptom burden between symptomatic at-risk
    individuals and patients with early RA.
  • Evaluation report on the appropriate use of standard PROs and newly designed PROs for monitoring of at-risk individuals.
  • Proposal of a prediction model to develop RA emphasizing PROs as prediction candidates.
  • Validation concept of the retrieved results in data of the at-risk register of the MUV
    (register starting enrolling in spring 2020 to monitor people with arthralgia at-risk for RA).