Key clinical point: In patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), disease activity was significantly lower in winter than in summer; however, the correlation between patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and weather-related factors lacked clinical significance.
Major finding: Disease activity scores, including the Clinical Disease Activity Index (mean, 8.2 vs 8.8; P < .001) and Simplified Disease Activity Index (mean, 8.6 vs 9.5; P < .001) scores, were significantly lower in winter than in summer. However, the association between weather-related factors and various PROs, including pain and fatigue measures, was not clinically significant (Pearson correlation coefficient, < 0.7).
Study details: In this study, 2665 PROs from 858 patients with PsA were analyzed and hourly measurements of temperature, relative humidity, and pressure were matched with disease activity and PROs in winter and summer.
Disclosures: The lead author received funding through the Canadian Association of Psoriasis Patients and the Canadian Institute of Health Research Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis for this study. Some authors declared having ties with various sources.
Source: Joly-Chevrier M, Coupal L, Sauvageau LC, Movahedi M, Choquette D. A real-world analysis on weather variation disease activity and patient reported outcomes in psoriatic arthritis. J Rheumatol. Published online September 15, 2024. Source