February 14, 2023
A recent study from France has found important differences in how men and women with axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) experience the disease. The study looked at patients over 6 years to see how their disease changed over time.
The study included 494 people (half men and half women) who were around 32 years old and had been experiencing symptoms for about 21 months. All patients had not yet started taking strong medicines for their arthritis.
Over the 6 years, both men and women got better in terms of their disease activity, overall health scores, and a blood test called C-reactive protein (CRP) that measures inflammation. However, women had worse disease activity and overall health scores compared to men, even though their CRP levels were similar. On the other hand, men showed more damage to their joints over time.
One-third of both men (33%) and women (34%) had high or very high disease activity throughout the study. But women had higher disease activity scores in these groups.
This study shows that sex plays an important role in how axial SpA affects people. Women tend to have worse symptoms, while men experience more joint damage over time. This information may help doctors better understand and treat patients with axial SpA.
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