Key clinical point: Patients with axial spondyloarthritis who were overweight or obese had significantly worse scores on measures of disease activity than did normal weight patients.

Major finding: Mean differences on the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index and the Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score showed that obese patients with axial spondyloarthritis had significantly worse scores than did normal-weight patients (–0.78 and –0.42, respectively).

Study details: The data come from a meta-analysis of 10 studies, including 3 cohort studies and 7 cross-sectional studies of adults aged 18 years and older.

Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.