Evaluation of the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) as a tool for assessing disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease of unknown exact cause, characterized by chronic inflammation. The prognostic nutritional index (PNI), reflecting albumin concentration and lymphocyte count, is a newly established inflammation-based nutritional score. This study aimed to determine the relationship between PNI and disease activity in RA patients.This cross-sectional study included 138 RA patients who met the 2010 revised criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) for RA. PNI was calculated using the following formula: 10 × serum albumin value (g/dL) + 0.005 × total lymphocyte count in the peripheral blood (per mm3). The study population was divided into two groups: DAS28-ESR ≤ 3.2 (group 1 with remission and low disease activity) and DAS28-ESR > 3.2 (group 2 with moderate and high disease activity).A total of 138 patients with a mean age of 52.1 years were recruited. While the female gender was more prevalent in both groups, it was significantly higher in group 2 (<italic>p</italic> < 0.05). Group 2 exhibited a lower PNI compared to those in group 1 (42.17 ± 3.46 vs. 44.02 ± 2.92; <italic>p</italic> = 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that PNI was an independent predictor of disease activity (OR, 0.850; 95% CI, 0.735–0.983; <italic>p</italic> = 0.029). ROC curve analysis determined that the optimal cutoff value of PNI for disease activity was 43.01, with a sensitivity of 69.1% and specificity of 57.7% (AUC, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.57–0.75, <italic>p</italic> = 0.001).This study demonstrates that the simple and readily available PNI could serve as an independent predictor of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients.<bold>Key Points</bold>•<italic>The relationship between disease activity and the prognostic nutritional index, which is a nutritional indicator, in rheumatoid arthritis patients was investigated.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that there is a connection between low PNI and high disease activity.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that PNI can be used to evaluate disease severity with a simple calculation.</italic><bold>Key Points</bold>•<italic>The relationship between disease activity and the prognostic nutritional index, which is a nutritional indicator, in rheumatoid arthritis patients was investigated.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that there is a connection between low PNI and high disease activity.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that PNI can be used to evaluate disease severity with a simple calculation.</italic>Patients and methods: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease of unknown exact cause, characterized by chronic inflammation. The prognostic nutritional index (PNI), reflecting albumin concentration and lymphocyte count, is a newly established inflammation-based nutritional score. This study aimed to determine the relationship between PNI and disease activity in RA patients.This cross-sectional study included 138 RA patients who met the 2010 revised criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) for RA. PNI was calculated using the following formula: 10 × serum albumin value (g/dL) + 0.005 × total lymphocyte count in the peripheral blood (per mm3). The study population was divided into two groups: DAS28-ESR ≤ 3.2 (group 1 with remission and low disease activity) and DAS28-ESR > 3.2 (group 2 with moderate and high disease activity).A total of 138 patients with a mean age of 52.1 years were recruited. While the female gender was more prevalent in both groups, it was significantly higher in group 2 (<italic>p</italic> < 0.05). Group 2 exhibited a lower PNI compared to those in group 1 (42.17 ± 3.46 vs. 44.02 ± 2.92; <italic>p</italic> = 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that PNI was an independent predictor of disease activity (OR, 0.850; 95% CI, 0.735–0.983; <italic>p</italic> = 0.029). ROC curve analysis determined that the optimal cutoff value of PNI for disease activity was 43.01, with a sensitivity of 69.1% and specificity of 57.7% (AUC, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.57–0.75, <italic>p</italic> = 0.001).This study demonstrates that the simple and readily available PNI could serve as an independent predictor of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients.<bold>Key Points</bold>•<italic>The relationship between disease activity and the prognostic nutritional index, which is a nutritional indicator, in rheumatoid arthritis patients was investigated.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that there is a connection between low PNI and high disease activity.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that PNI can be used to evaluate disease severity with a simple calculation.</italic><bold>Key Points</bold>•<italic>The relationship between disease activity and the prognostic nutritional index, which is a nutritional indicator, in rheumatoid arthritis patients was investigated.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that there is a connection between low PNI and high disease activity.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that PNI can be used to evaluate disease severity with a simple calculation.</italic>Results: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease of unknown exact cause, characterized by chronic inflammation. The prognostic nutritional index (PNI), reflecting albumin concentration and lymphocyte count, is a newly established inflammation-based nutritional score. This study aimed to determine the relationship between PNI and disease activity in RA patients.This cross-sectional study included 138 RA patients who met the 2010 revised criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) for RA. PNI was calculated using the following formula: 10 × serum albumin value (g/dL) + 0.005 × total lymphocyte count in the peripheral blood (per mm3). The study population was divided into two groups: DAS28-ESR ≤ 3.2 (group 1 with remission and low disease activity) and DAS28-ESR > 3.2 (group 2 with moderate and high disease activity).A total of 138 patients with a mean age of 52.1 years were recruited. While the female gender was more prevalent in both groups, it was significantly higher in group 2 (<italic>p</italic> < 0.05). Group 2 exhibited a lower PNI compared to those in group 1 (42.17 ± 3.46 vs. 44.02 ± 2.92; <italic>p</italic> = 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that PNI was an independent predictor of disease activity (OR, 0.850; 95% CI, 0.735–0.983; <italic>p</italic> = 0.029). ROC curve analysis determined that the optimal cutoff value of PNI for disease activity was 43.01, with a sensitivity of 69.1% and specificity of 57.7% (AUC, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.57–0.75, <italic>p</italic> = 0.001).This study demonstrates that the simple and readily available PNI could serve as an independent predictor of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients.<bold>Key Points</bold>•<italic>The relationship between disease activity and the prognostic nutritional index, which is a nutritional indicator, in rheumatoid arthritis patients was investigated.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that there is a connection between low PNI and high disease activity.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that PNI can be used to evaluate disease severity with a simple calculation.</italic><bold>Key Points</bold>•<italic>The relationship between disease activity and the prognostic nutritional index, which is a nutritional indicator, in rheumatoid arthritis patients was investigated.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that there is a connection between low PNI and high disease activity.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that PNI can be used to evaluate disease severity with a simple calculation.</italic>Conclusion: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease of unknown exact cause, characterized by chronic inflammation. The prognostic nutritional index (PNI), reflecting albumin concentration and lymphocyte count, is a newly established inflammation-based nutritional score. This study aimed to determine the relationship between PNI and disease activity in RA patients.This cross-sectional study included 138 RA patients who met the 2010 revised criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) for RA. PNI was calculated using the following formula: 10 × serum albumin value (g/dL) + 0.005 × total lymphocyte count in the peripheral blood (per mm3). The study population was divided into two groups: DAS28-ESR ≤ 3.2 (group 1 with remission and low disease activity) and DAS28-ESR > 3.2 (group 2 with moderate and high disease activity).A total of 138 patients with a mean age of 52.1 years were recruited. While the female gender was more prevalent in both groups, it was significantly higher in group 2 (<italic>p</italic> < 0.05). Group 2 exhibited a lower PNI compared to those in group 1 (42.17 ± 3.46 vs. 44.02 ± 2.92; <italic>p</italic> = 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that PNI was an independent predictor of disease activity (OR, 0.850; 95% CI, 0.735–0.983; <italic>p</italic> = 0.029). ROC curve analysis determined that the optimal cutoff value of PNI for disease activity was 43.01, with a sensitivity of 69.1% and specificity of 57.7% (AUC, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.57–0.75, <italic>p</italic> = 0.001).This study demonstrates that the simple and readily available PNI could serve as an independent predictor of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients.<bold>Key Points</bold>•<italic>The relationship between disease activity and the prognostic nutritional index, which is a nutritional indicator, in rheumatoid arthritis patients was investigated.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that there is a connection between low PNI and high disease activity.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that PNI can be used to evaluate disease severity with a simple calculation.</italic><bold>Key Points</bold>•<italic>The relationship between disease activity and the prognostic nutritional index, which is a nutritional indicator, in rheumatoid arthritis patients was investigated.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that there is a connection between low PNI and high disease activity.</italic>•<italic>It has been shown that PNI can be used to evaluate disease severity with a simple calculation.</italic> [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]