Gender Impact on Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Characteristics in A Cohort of Egyptian Patients

Abstract
Background: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by various extra-articular manifestations and progressive articular damage. It has been a common perception that RA is more severe in females, but the literature is not clear about gender difference regarding RA disease course and prognosis.
Aim of Study: To compare between male and female patients with rheumatoid arthritis regarding demographic, clinical characteristics, laboratory features, treatment received as well as the functional disabilities.
Patients and Methods: Two hundred and ten RA patients consecutively recruited from the Rheumatology Department outpatient Clinic, Cairo University Hospitals from December 2017 to May 2018. Patients were divided based on sex and were compared regarding clinical characteristics, laboratory features, medications received, disease activity score 28 (DAS28) and The Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ).
Results: Out of our studied patients 176 (83.8%) were females and 34 (16.2%) males with male to female ratio 5:1. Female RA patients were statistically significant younger age (p=0.04) and statistically significant had lower hemoglobin level (p=0.00), also had higher number of Tender Joint Count (TJC) (p=0.4), higher DAS28 score (p=0.3), higher health assessment questionnaire score (p=0.5), and more frequently receiving methotrexate (p=0.3) than male RA patients although the differences did not reach statistical significance. On the other hand male RA patients were statistically significant more smoker (p=0.00), and statistically significant more frequently having subcutaneous nodule (p=0.004).
Conclusion: Female RA patients demonstrated slightly worse levels of disease activity and functional disability, although the difference did not reach statistical significance.