Distinct clinical and biomechanical factors could help identify RA patients at risk for falls

Key clinical point: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have distinct clinical and biomechanical factors that place them at an increased risk for falls.

Major finding: The fallers vs. nonfallers were older (P = .05), had significantly higher pain scores (P less than .01), experienced dizziness (P less than .01), and were taking psychotropic medications (P = .02). The fallers vs. nonfallers had significantly higher anteroposterior sway (P = .03) and sway range (P = .02) and medial-lateral sway (P = .01) and sway range (P = .02) when standing with eyes open and a greater asymmetry during isometric extension at 90° (P = .05) and 60° (P = .02).

Study details: This was a nested case-control biomechanical analysis of 436 patients (aged 60 years or older) with RA who completed a 1-year prospective survey of falls.

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Disclosures: This work was supported by the National Institute for Health Research, Research for Patient Benefit, and NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Smith TO et al. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021 Apr 26. doi:10.1093/rheumatology/keab388.