Age and BMI Can Influence Diagnostic Delay for PsA

Patients who experience psoriatic arthritis (PsA) symptoms at an earlier age, possess a higher BMI, or experience enthesitis are more likely to see a diagnostic delay—the time between patient-reported PsA-related joint symptoms to an official physician diagnosis—of more than 2 years, a new study revealed. Patients with sebopsoriasis are less likely to experience a diagnostic delay. Examining a retrospective population-based cohort of adults aged years 18 and older in Olmsted County, Minnesota, during 2000–2017, researchers were able to determine links between age, sex, symptom onset, and body mass index as viable characteristics in delaying diagnosis. Of the 164 incident PsA cases reported in the study, 162 received a physician or rheumatologist diagnosis. The mean age was 41.5, and 46% of participants were female. By 6 months after PsA-related symptom onset, 23% of participants received a diagnosis. By 1 year, 35% were diagnosed with PsA, and by 2 years, 45% percent of participants received a diagnosis of PsA. The average time from self-reported symptom onset to physician diagnosis was 2.5 years. “Earlier age at onset of PsA symptoms, higher body mass index, and enthesitis were associated with a diagnostic delay of more than 2 years, while sebopsoriasis was associated with a lower likelihood of delay,” concluded the authors. “More than half of patients with PsA experienced a diagnostic delay of more than 2 years.”   -Angelique Platas   Reference: Karmacharya P,  Wright K,  Achenbach S. Diagnostic delay in psoriatic arthritis: a population-based study  J Rheumatol.  Published online ahead of print, February 15, 2021. doi: https://doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.201199