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Abstract
Background: Delayed diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may adversely affect timely treatment and follow-up. Understanding patient characteristics and barriers associated with diagnostic pathways is important for improving early recognition and continuity of care.
Objective: To assess demographic, clinical, and serological characteristics of patients with RA and examine differences across barriers to diagnosis, diagnosis time, and follow-up patterns.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 246 patients with RA. Demographic characteristics, awareness, clinical presentation, serological findings, disease stage, diagnostic barriers, diagnosis time, and follow-up status were assessed. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Least Significant Difference (LSD) post-hoc comparisons were performed, with P < .05 considered statistically significant.
Results: The mean age was 47.0 ± 13.6 years, and 52.8% of participants were female. Most participants were married (69.5%), 54.9% lived in rural areas, and 58.1% were employed. Pain (27.6%) and stiffness (26.8%) were the most frequently reported initial symptoms, while 39.0% had involvement of 1–3 small joints. Very early disease (<3 months) was observed in 36.6% of participants. Diagnosis time differed significantly across barrier-to-diagnosis groups (F = 2.762, P = .043), as did follow-up status (F = 2.852, P = .038). Post-hoc analysis identified significant differences between specific barrier groups for diagnosis time and follow-up.
Conclusion: Patients with RA demonstrated heterogeneous demographic and clinical profiles. Differences in diagnosis time and follow-up across diagnostic-barrier groups emphasize the importance of addressing barriers to timely diagnosis and continuity of care.