A study published in The Journal of Rheumatology examined the demographic and clinical characteristics linked with diagnostic delay in psoriatic arthritis (PsA), finding patients with PsA often experience a diagnostic delay of more than 2 years.
The researchers retrospectively characterized a cohort of patients with PsA aged 18 years or older who were treated between the years 2000 to 2017. They considered diagnostic delay as the time between patient-reported PsA symptoms to a physician diagnosing PsA. Logistic regression models were used to identify additional factors linked to a delay in PsA diagnosis.
In total, of the 164 incident PsA cases, 162 had a diagnosis made by a physician or rheumatologist. Patients had a mean (SD) age of 41.5 (12.6) years, and 46% of patients were women. Analysis found that median time from symptom onset to physician diagnosis was 2.5 years (interquartile range, 0.5 to 7.3). At the 6-month mark, 38 (23%) of patients received a diagnosis of PsA; at 1 year, 56 (35%) were diagnosed, and 73 (45%) by 2 years after symptom onset. The authors found no significant trend in diagnostic delay over calendar time.
The study noted that younger patients who experienced PsA symptoms, as well as those with a higher BMI and enthesitis, had a longer diagnostic delay (>2 years). In addition, patients with sebopsoriasis had a lower likelihood of having a delayed diagnosis. Additionally, it concluded that more than half of patients with PsA experienced an average diagnostic delay of greater than 2 years, and that there has been no effort in improving this time frame from 2000-17. —Jessica Garlewicz
Reference
Karmacharya P, Wright K, Achenbach SJ, et al. Diagnostic delay in psoriatic arthritis: a population based study. J Rheumatol. Published online February 15, 2021. doi:10.3899/jrheum.201199
