Late-Onset vs Early-Onset PsA

Patients with late-onset psoriatic arthritis (PsA) showed different clinical characteristics and greater disease severity than those with early-onset PsA, according to the findings of an observational and cross-sectional study published in Joint Bone Spine.

“Late-onset PsA is associated with being male, greater structural damage, higher frequency of arthritis (upper limbs), and greater loss of functionality (BASFI) [Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index],” the researchers said. It is associated with “a shorter diagnostic delay, lower frequency of enthesitis and sacroiliitis.”

Patients with PsA from the REGISPONSER study (Registry of Spondyloarthritis of Spanish Rheumatology) and the RESPONDIA study (Ibero-American Registry of Spondyloarthropathies) were divided into 2 groups: early-onset of PsA ≤ 40 years old and late-onset of PsA ≥ 60 years old.

Of the 231 patients included, 179 (77.5%) were early-onset patients and 52 (22.5%) were late-onset.

“Patients from the early-onset group showed a significantly lower prevalence of males [94 (62.3%) vs. 38 (86.4%)] and a higher prevalence of enthesitis [44 (24.6%) vs. 5 (9.8%)] and sacroiliitis [30 (16.8%) vs. 4 (7.7%)],” the researchers found.

Additionally, patients in the early-onset group scored lower on the BASFI and minor structural damage in both the spine and the whole axial skeleton compared to the late-onset group.

“The age of onset of PsA is associated with different characteristics of the disease,” the authors concluded.

Reference:

Puche-Larrubia MÁ, Ladehesa-Pineda L, López-Montilla MD, et al. Differences between early vs. late-onset of psoriatic arthritis: data from the RESPONDIA and REGISPONSER registries. Joint Bone Spine. Published online March 17, 2023. doi:10.1016/j.jbspin.2023.105563