{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,31]],"date-time":"2025-08-31T10:38:12Z","timestamp":1756636692912,"version":"3.40.5"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Wiley","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,12]],"date-time":"2024-01-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1705017600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["International Journal of Rheumatology"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Background. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the frequent chronic, systemic, inflammatory autoimmune disorders with an estimated global prevalence of 1%. RA leads to joint destruction and disability if left untreated. Ghana has seen very few studies on RA, and little is known about the disease\u2019s severity and related variables. This study sought to characterize the clinical presentation and determine disease severity and associated risk factors with disease severity among RA patients in a tertiary hospital in Ghana. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted between September 2020 and August 2021. This study included 56 consecutively consenting RA patients from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital orthopaedic unit. Diagnosis of RA was based on the updated American College of Rheumatology\/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR\/EULAR) 2022 rheumatoid arthritis classification criteria by a rheumatologist. A study questionnaire was used to gather participant demographics and clinical features, and results from the laboratory were taken from the patients\u2019 charts and medical records. The patients\u2019 disease severity was evaluated based on the rheumatoid arthritis disease activity score, which is based on a 28-joint count (DAS28), and their functioning was evaluated using the modified health assessment questionnaire. Results. The participants\u2019 mean age was <jats:inline-formula><a:math xmlns:a=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" id=\"M1\"><a:mn>51.25<\/a:mn><a:mo>\u00b1<\/a:mo><a:mn>13.22<\/a:mn><\/a:math><\/jats:inline-formula> years. Out of the total participants, 46 were females, and 10 were males (female-to-male ratio 4.6\u2009:\u20091). Moreover, 37.50% had arthritis of the hand; 5.30% had severe disease, and 94.60% were not severe. A majority (76.80%) were on methotrexate medication. The most frequently involved joints were the knee (42.90%), wrist (32.10%), and elbow (12.50%). There was no statistically significant association with disease severity and a functional status score of &gt;0.5 (cOR: 10.60, 95% CI (0.52-217.30); <jats:inline-formula><c:math xmlns:c=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" id=\"M2\"><c:mi>p<\/c:mi><c:mo>=<\/c:mo><c:mn>0.124<\/c:mn><\/c:math><\/jats:inline-formula>). In addition, marital status (<jats:inline-formula><e:math xmlns:e=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" id=\"M3\"><e:mi>p<\/e:mi><e:mo>=<\/e:mo><e:mn>0.04<\/e:mn><\/e:math><\/jats:inline-formula>), disease duration (<jats:inline-formula><g:math xmlns:g=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" id=\"M4\"><g:mi>p<\/g:mi><g:mo>=<\/g:mo><g:mn>0.04<\/g:mn><\/g:math><\/jats:inline-formula>), family complaints (<jats:inline-formula><i:math xmlns:i=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" id=\"M5\"><i:mi>p<\/i:mi><i:mo>=<\/i:mo><i:mn>0.02<\/i:mn><\/i:math><\/jats:inline-formula>), and ESR (<jats:inline-formula><k:math xmlns:k=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" id=\"M6\"><k:mi>p<\/k:mi><k:mo>=<\/k:mo><k:mn>0.03<\/k:mn><\/k:math><\/jats:inline-formula>) were significantly associated with disease severity. Conclusion. RA is predominant among elder populations and females. Disease duration, family complaints, and ESR are associated with disease severity. The findings of this study call for interventions towards ensuring early diagnosis of RA among high-risk populations to enhance good management practices.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1155\/2024\/6639079","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,13]],"date-time":"2024-01-13T00:20:05Z","timestamp":1705105205000},"page":"1-9","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Demographic, Clinical Profile of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients and Their Association with Disease Severity in Ghana"],"prefix":"10.1155","volume":"2024","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0425-4481","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Tonnies Abeku","family":"Buckman","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Laboratory Science, KAAF University College, Buduburam-Gomoa East District, Ghana"},{"name":"Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5168-4762","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Samuel Asamoah","family":"Sakyi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kwame","family":"Yeboah-Mensah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maxwell Hubert","family":"Antwi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Koforidua Technical University, Koforidua, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Isaac","family":"Darban","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Koforidua Technical University, Koforidua, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lawrence","family":"Owusu-Brenya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5229-0340","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Joseph","family":"Yorke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Andy Opoku","family":"Boateng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2973-8952","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ebenezer","family":"Senu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Albert","family":"Dompreh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Akwasi Minnah","family":"Addei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Richard","family":"Boateng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Komfo Anokye 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