Koichiro Yano    Department   School of Medicine(Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital), School of Medicine    Position   Associate Professor
Article types	Original article
Language	English
Peer review	Peer reviewed
Title	Features of patients with rheumatoid arthritis whose debut joint is a foot or ankle joint: A 5,479-case study from the IORRA cohort.
Journal	Formal name：PloS one Abbreviation：PLoS One ISSN code：19326203/19326203
Domestic / Foregin	Foregin
Volume, Issue, Page	13(9),pp.e0202427
Author and coauthor	Yano Koichiro, Ikari Katsunori, Inoue Eisuke, Sakuma Yu, Mochizuki Takeshi, Koenuma Naoko, Tobimatsu Haruki, Tanaka Eiichi, Taniguchi Atsuo, Okazaki Ken, Yamanaka Hisashi
Authorship	Lead author
Publication date	2018
Summary	BACKGROUND:Foot and ankle joint disorders are serious issues for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We compared the differences between patients with RA whose first symptom involved a foot or ankle joint (FOOT group) versus other joints (non-FOOT group) within the Institute of Rheumatology, Rheumatoid Arthritis (IORRA) cohort in our institute.PATIENTS AND METHODS:In the IORRA survey conducted in April 2016, patients were invited to complete six questionnaires about their first symptom at RA onset, current foot or ankle symptoms, daily living activities, and mental health. Disease activity, clinical laboratory variables, functional disability, quality of life, use and ratio of anti-inflammatory and antirheumatic drugs, daily living activities and mental health were compared between the two groups.RESULTS:Among 5,637 Japanese patients with RA who participated in the IORRA survey on April 2016, 5,479 (97.2%) responded to the questionnaire regarding their debut joint. Of these patients, 2,402 (43.8%) reported that their first symptom of RA involved a foot or ankle joint. The FOOT group (n = 2,164) had higher disease activity, higher disabilities, lower quality of life, lower activities of daily living, and poorer mental health and used anti-inflammatory drugs at a higher rate and at higher doses compared with the non-FOOT group (n = 2,164). On the other hand, the use of medications to suppress the disease activity of RA was similar between the groups.CONCLUSION:Clinicians should pay more attention to foot and ankle joints in daily practice so as not to underestimate the disease activity of RA.
DOI	10.1371/journal.pone.0202427
PMID	30188930