Interethnic Variations and Clinical Features of Spondyloarthropathies in a Middle Eastern Country.

Objectives: The study aimed to demonstrate the interethnic differences and clinical features of Spondyloarthropathy(SpA) patients in a diverse Middle Eastern Country.

Methods: A retrospective review of medical records to collect the required data was conducted for SpA patients at two study institutions in the United Arab Emirates.

Results: Of 141 SpA patients found, 88 AS(Ankylosing Spondylitis) patients and 53 'other SpA' patients were identified.

The association of fatigue, comorbidity burden, disease activity, disability and gross domestic product in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Results from 34 countries participating in the Quest-RA program.

Objectives: The aim is to assess the prevalence of comorbidities and to further analyse to which degree fatigue can be explained by comorbidity burden, disease activity, disability and gross domestic product (GDP) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Nine thousands eight hundred seventy-four patients from 34 countries, 16 with high GDP (>24.000 US dollars [USD] per capita) and 18 low-GDP countries (<24.

Suboptimal management of rheumatoid arthritis in the Middle East and Africa: could the EULAR recommendations be the start of a solution?

Although the prevalence of RA in the Middle East and Africa is comparable with that in other parts of the world, evidence indicates that its management in this region is suboptimal for a variety of reasons, including misconceptions and misunderstandings about the disease's prevalence and severity in the region, compounded by the lack of local epidemiological and health-economic data around the disease; the perception that RA is a low priority compared with other more prevalent conditions; delayed diagnosis, referral and treatment; and a lack of a region-specific, evidence-based management approach. In the absence of such an approach, the EULAR treatment recommendations may provide a useful starting point for the creation of guidelines to suit local circumstances. However, although agreement with the EULAR recommendations is high, many barriers prevent their implementation in clinical practise, including lack of timely referral to rheumatologists; suboptimal use of synthetic DMARDs; poor access to biologics; lack of awareness of the burden of RA among healthcare professionals, patients and payers; and lack of appropriate staffing levels.

Efforts to increase public awareness may result in more timely diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have previously been found to have a long delay to diagnosis and low utilization of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Over the past 5 years, support groups, awareness programs, and public campaigns have been instituted in the region.

Aim: This study aimed to assess whether such initiatives have affected the lag to diagnosis previously observed.

The benefits of yoga for rheumatoid arthritis: results of a preliminary, structured 8-week program.

The aim of this study was to measure the effects of a bi-weekly Raj yoga program on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity. Subjects were recruited from among RA patients in Dubai, United Arab Emirates by email invitations of the RA database. Demographic data, disease activity indices, health assessment questionnaire (HAQ), and quality of life (QOL) by SF-36 were documented at enrollment and after completion of 12 sessions of Raj yoga.