Psoriatic Arthritis Acceptable Symptoms State: Does Sex Make a Difference?

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Clinical Medicine
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) significantly impacts patients' quality of life.
• The Patient Acceptable Symptoms State (PASS) assesses patient acceptance of their current disease status.
• Understanding sex-based differences in PsA perception is crucial for personalized care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in PASS thresholds between male and female PsA patients.
• To compare Disease Activity for Psoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA), PsAID-12, and HAQ-DI scores in relation to PASS across sexes.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study analyzing two PsA cohorts.
• Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves identified DAPSA, PsAID-12, and HAQ-DI thresholds for PASS acceptance.
• Cohen's kappa test assessed agreement between PASS and clinical thresholds.

Main Results:

• Female PsA patients accepted higher DAPSA (13.3 vs 11.7), PsAID-12 (3.85 vs 1.85), and HAQ-DI (0.750 vs 0.625) thresholds compared to males.
• Agreement between PASS and DAPSA ≤14 was good in females (κ=0.80) and moderate in males (κ=0.56).
• Higher agreement for PASS with PsAID-12 and HAQ-DI was observed in females.

Conclusions:

• Female patients with PsA demonstrate a greater inclination towards global disease acceptance.
• Sex-specific differences in disease perception and acceptance are evident in PsA.
• These findings underscore the importance of considering sex in the management of psoriatic arthritis.