• Song-Chou Hsieh, Ping-Han Tsai, Chang-Fu Kuo, Tien-Tsai Cheng, Ning-Sheng Lai, Jing-Chi Lin, Liang-Hung Lin, and Chang-Youh Tsai.
• Division of Rheumatology, Immunology & Allergy, Department of Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
• J Chin Med Assoc. 2023 Apr 1; 86 (4): 366374366-374.

BackgroundTo determine the effects of adalimumab on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Taiwanese patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (NCT02616380).MethodsDuring a 24-week observational period, 100 biologic-naive patients with RA received 40 mg adalimumab subcutaneously, every 2 weeks. The primary endpoint was a change in Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI) score at 24 weeks. The secondary endpoints included change in HAQ-DI at week 12, number and percentage of patients achieving a meaningful improvement in HAQ-DI at weeks 12 and 24, and changes in the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), EuroQol 5-dimension 3-level version (EQ-5D-3L) index, and Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) questionnaire scores at weeks 12 and 24.ResultsAt weeks 12 and 24, mean changes in HAQ-DI from baseline were -0.34 ± 0.46 and -0.44 ± 0.59 (both p < 0.001), and clinically meaningful improvement in HAQ-DI was achieved by 60.4% and 59.6% of patients, respectively. SF-36, EQ-5D-3L index, and WPAI scores significantly improved ( p < 0.001) from baseline to weeks 12 and 24. Exploratory analyses showed diabetes was significantly associated with changes in HAQ-DI, EQ-5D-3L, and WPAI scores whereas peptic ulcer correlated with changes in the SF-36 physical component summary T-score.ConclusionHRQoL improved after initiation of adalimumab therapy in Taiwanese patients with moderate-to-severe RA.Copyright © 2023, the Chinese Medical Association.

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