Are we screening effectively? A systematic review and meta-analysis of proposed risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease screening
Authors' conclusion
The proposed risk factors for RA-ILD screening lack robust evidence, and existing data indicate insufficient individual predictive power.
Study context
- Population
- Unselected RA patients in prospective cohorts with high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT); risk factors proposed by ACR and American College of Chest Physicians for RA-ILD screening
- Participants
- 1,380 patients9 studies
- Comparison
- RA-ILD vs RA without ILD
- Outcome
- Prevalence of RA-ILD and performance of proposed risk factors
Methodological detailsHRCT in prospectively collected data from unselected RA patients
- HRCT in prospectively collected data from unselected RA patients
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Prevalence of RA-ILD via HRCT
RA-ILD prevalence
18.9%
Prevalence range across studies
6.7% to 42.7%
Further pooled results
Proposed risk factors, RA-ILD vs non-ILD
- Male sex higher in RA-ILD
- 12.6%
- History of smoking higher in RA-ILD
- 12.2%
- Age at RA onset higher in RA-ILD (years)
- 7.0
- DAS28 similar between the two groups
- Limited data for high-titre seropositivity and BMI
- No studies examined the risk factors collectively
Original publication
Are we screening effectively? A systematic review and meta-analysis of proposed risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease screening. Scand J Rheumatol. Published 9 September 2025. doi:10.
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