Decreasing Fossil Emissions Benefits Response to Biological Drugs in Chronic Inflammatory Arthritides

Environmental air pollution is a predictor of poor response to biological drugs in chronic inflammatory arthritides (CIA), according to a recent study published in ACR Open Rheumatology.

Researchers aimed to determine the role of air pollutants on the biological treatment response of CIA in a case-crossover study that compared the exposure to pollutants in the 60-day period before a drug switch due to disease progression. Longitudinal data on patients affected by CIA and on biological therapies was collected.

Results showed that air pollutant concentrations were higher in the 60-day period before biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD) response failure and before a switch or swap.

“We found that environmental air pollution was a determinant of poor response to bDMARDs in a cohort of patients with CIA followed over a 5-year period,” concluded the study authors.

Reference
Adami G, Rossini M, Viapiana O, et al. Environmental air pollution is a predictor of poor response to biological drugs in chronic inflammatory arthritides. ACR Open Rheumatol. Published June 1, 2021. doi:10.1002/acr2.11270