Measuring disease activity and functionality during pregnancy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: Pregnancy has a favorable effect on the course of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), although the magnitude of this effect is equivocal because RA assessment tools have never been validated in pregnancy. The goal of this study was to assess how pregnancy influences the scoring of the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) and the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), and how both scores perform in pregnant patients with RA.

Methods: Thirty-two healthy women and 30 pregnant patients with RA were prospectively studied during pregnancy and at postpartum.