Association between frailty and incident cancer in newly diagnosed patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Authors' conclusion
Frail patients with newly diagnosed RA had a higher unadjusted incidence of cancer, and shorter time to cancer diagnosis compared to non-frail patients. However, after adjusting for demographics, comorbidities and healthcare utilization, frailty alone was not an independent predictor of increased cancer risk in this relatively younger population with RA.
Study context
- Population
- Individuals with newly diagnosed Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) identified by diagnosis codes and pharmacy records, Merative MarketScan databases 2008–20224.1% frail
- Participants
- 73,240 individuals
- Exposure
- Frail vs non-frail patients with newly diagnosed RA
- Outcome
- Incident cancer (validated algorithm in administrative claims data)
Methodological detailsclaims-based (Merative MarketScan, 2008–2022), Cox proportional hazards models, unadjusted and adjusted
- Claims-based (Merative MarketScan, 2008–2022)
- Cox proportional hazards models, unadjusted and adjusted
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Incident cancer
Frail vs Non-frailEstimate (95% CI)
Incident cancer
HR (unadjusted) 1.5(1.3–1.8)
Adjusted for demographics, Charlson comorbidity index, and healthcare utilization
HR (adjusted) 1.1(0.9–1.4)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Time to cancer diagnosis
Original publication
Association between frailty and incident cancer in newly diagnosed patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Semin Arthritis Rheum. Published 6 March 2026. doi:10.
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