EC Orthopaedics

Introduction: We investigated the percentage of chronic kidney disease in rheumatoid arthritis patients over 80 years of age.

Subjects and Methods: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were over 80 years of age and were undergoing follow-up observation at Sakai Sakibana Hospital from July 2024 to June 2025. The participants’ demographic information was surveyed.

Results and Discussion: A total of 105 patients were included. The patient information was as follows: age, 80-98 years; gender, male, n = 24; female, n = 81. In this study, medication for prednisolone and/or methotrexate and/or leflunomide patients decreased, but use of biopharmaceutical or Janus kinase inhibitor patients increased. The mean estimated glomerular filtration rate was 53.3 ± 12.6 (range 24 to 88) mL/min/1.73m². Hemoglobin level ranged from 8.7 to 15.4 (mean 12.0 ± 1.4) mg/dL. The findings of this study indicate that chronic kidney disease (CKD) was a substantial concern in RA patients of over 80 years of age (G3a or higher, 66.7%). Therefore, there is a need to increase treatment for anemia in elderly patients with RA.

Conclusion: The percentage of CKD in RA patients increase with age in Japan.

 Keywords: Chronic Kidney Disease; Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate; Rheumatoid Arthritis; Over 80 Years of Age

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