Spondyloarthritis & psoriatic arthritis
Relationship between sex and clinical and imaging features of early axial spondyloarthritis: results from a 48 month follow-up (Italian arm of the SPondyloArthritis Caught Early (SPACE) study)
Authors' conclusion
Sex was associated with distinct axSpA features: females showed low-grade radiographic sacroiliitis and spinal progression, and a higher prevalence of cervical and thoracic spine MRI signs.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with chronic back pain (duration ≥ 3 months and ≤ 2 years; onset < 45 years) diagnosed with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), Italian SPACE cohort47.3% male
- Participants
- 91 patients
- Exposure
- Male vs female patients with early axSpA
- Outcome
- Association between sex and clinical, disease activity indices, and X-ray and MRI features of early axSpA
- Follow-up
- 48 months
Methodological details48-month follow-up, Italian arm of the SPACE cohort, descriptive statistics
- 48-month follow-up
- Italian arm of the SPACE cohort
- Descriptive statistics
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Males younger, shorter axial symptom duration, more often HLA-B27 positive, radiographic sacroiliitis with bilateral/symmetric pattern, more signs of spondylitis
- Females more often peripheral/entheseal involvement and non-radiographic phenotype
- Males: increased pelvic/spinal radiographic progression and more often active sacroiliitis on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Inflammatory corner lesion frequency did not differ by sex; more cervical/thoracic MRI-spine lesions in females, more lumbar lesions in males
- Significant downward trend of Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC) SIJ/spine scores in all patients, irrespective of sex
- More fat lesions on MRI-spine in females and on MRI-SIJ in males
- 83.5% non-radiographic; 16.5% radiographic
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Relationship between sex and clinical and imaging features of early axial spondyloarthritis: results from a 48 month follow-up (Italian arm of the SPondyloArthritis Caught Early (SPACE) study). Scand J Rheumatol. Published 27 February 2023. doi:10.
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