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Risankizumab therapy was associated with improvements in health-related quality of life (HRQOL), fatigue, pain, and work productivity in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), according to study findings published in Rheumatology.

Researchers conducted a 24-week, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the impact of risankizumab on HRQOL and other patient-reported outcomes. Adult patients with active PsA were randomly assigned to receive either risankizumab 150 mg or placebo via subcutaneous injection at weeks 0, 4, and 16. Patient-reported outcomes were captured using multiple questionnaires, including the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-Fatigue), EuroQoL-5 Dimension-5 Level (EQ-5D-5L), Patient’s Assessment of Pain, Patient’s Global Assessment of Disease Activity, and Work Productivity and Activity Impairment-PsA questionnaire. Least squares (LS) mean change in these scores from baseline to 24 weeks were calculated for each study arm.

Among a total of 964 patients (men 50.4%; White 93.9%), 483 were randomly assigned to the risankizumab group and 481 were randomly assigned to the placebo group. Of the total cohort, 75.7% reported concomitant use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) at baseline. Participants were a mean age of 51.3±12.2 years and had a mean disease duration of 7.1±7.4 years.

Baseline questionnaire scores were comparable between the risankizumab and placebo groups. However, the risankizumab group experienced significant improvements compared with placebo at week 24. Specifically, FACIT-Fatigue scores improved by a mean of 6.5 in the risankizumab group compared with 3.9 in the placebo group (LS mean change, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.5-3.7; P <.001).

Mean improvements in the EQ-5D-5L Index and EQ-5D-5L visual analogue scale (VAS) scores were also greater with risankizumab compared with placebo, representing improvements in patient-described quality of life (all P <.001). Patient-reported pain, patient-reported QOL assessment of disease activity, and all domain scores on the Short-Form Health Survey were significantly decreased in patients who received risankizumab vs placebo (all P <.001). Scores on the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire were significantly improved in patients who received risankizumab vs placebo (P <.001). Patients in the risankizumab group reported greater improvements in overall work presenteeism and greater reductions in overall work impairment and activity impairment.

A limitation of the study includes the homogenous study cohort, which may have limited generalizability to the larger patient population, particularly non-White patients with PsA.

The study authors concluded, “These results support the use of risankizumab by demonstrating a reduction in the impact of PsA on patients’ HRQoL, in addition to symptomatic benefits.”

Disclosure: This research was supported by AbbVie. Please see the original reference for a full list of disclosures.