Published in

Journal of Rheumatology, The Journal of Rheumatology, 2(49), p. 225-229, 2021

DOI: 10.3899/jrheum.210742

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

The Interplay Between COVID-19 and Spondyloarthritis or Its Treatment

Distributing this paper is prohibited by the publisher
Distributing this paper is prohibited by the publisher

Full text: Unavailable

Red circle
Preprint: archiving forbidden
Orange circle
Postprint: archiving restricted
Red circle
Published version: archiving forbidden
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

ObjectiveThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created multiple uncertainties regarding rheumatic diseases or their treatment, with regard to the susceptibility to or severity of the viral disease. We aimed to address these questions as they relate to spondyloarthritis (SpA).MethodsWe created a longitudinal survey from April 10, 2020, to April 26, 2021. There were 4723 subjects with SpA and 450 household contacts who participated worldwide. Of these, 3064 respondents were from the US and 70.4% of them provided longitudinal data. To control for the duration of potential risk of COVID-19, the rate of contracting the disease was normalized for person-months of exposure.ResultsIn an analysis of US subjects who provided longitudinal data, the incident rate ratio for the 159 (out of 2157) subjects who tested positive for COVID-19 was 1.16 compared to the US population as adjusted for age and sex (range 0.997–1.361, P = 0.06). A paired evaluation using patients and household members did not show a statistically significant effect to indicate a predisposition for developing COVID-19 as a result of SpA or its treatment. Our data failed to show that any class of medication commonly used to treat SpA significantly affected the risk of developing COVID-19 or increasing the severity of COVID-19.ConclusionThese data do not exclude a small increased risk of developing COVID-19 as a result of SpA, but the risk, if it exists, is low and not consistently demonstrated. The data should provide reassurance to patients and to rheumatologists about the risk that COVID-19 poses to patients with SpA.