Effect of increased uric acid levels in inflammatory arthritis and spondyloarthropathy

Aims & Background: The main aim of this paper is “Toinvestigate the relationship between elevated serum uric acid levels and the disease severity of inflammatory arthritis and spondyloarthropathy.” Materials and Methods: It’s a cross-sectional study conducted for a 6 months duration. Diagnosed cases of arthritis visiting to Orthopaedic OPD or admitted in wards were the study population. A total of 100 patients were selected for the study. Clinical and demographic data were collected from medical records, including, age, sex, duration of disease, disease activity scores (e.g., DAS28 for rheumatoid arthritis, BASDAI for ankylosing spondylitis) and laboratory parameters, including serum uric acid levels, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Results: In the Inflammatory Arthritis (IA) group, the mean Disease Activity Score 28 using C-reactive protein (DAS28-CRP) was 3.1 and in the Spondyloarthropathy (SpA) group, the mean Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) was 4.2 .The correlation analysis showed higher SUA levels are associated with increased disease activity in both IA and SpA. Conclusion: A significant positive correlation was observed between SUA levels and disease activity scores in both groups. Regression analysis further confirmed this association, demonstrating that elevated SUA levels remained an independent predictor of increased disease activity even after adjusting for age and disease duration. Furthermore, SUA levels were significantly higher in patients with higher disease activity in both IA and SpA. These findings suggest a strong association between elevated SUA levels and increased disease activity in these inflammatory conditions. Clinical significance: Elevated uric acid levels can exacerbate inflammation in joints, potentially worsening symptoms and disease progression. Understanding these effects can lead to improved treatment strategies tailored to managing uric acid levels, thus alleviating symptoms and enhancing quality of life for patients with these conditions.