Women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) present significantly worse disability and quality of life (QOL) outcomes than men, according to a recent study. These differences can be explained by female gender-associated comorbidities such as depression and osteoporosis rather than gender per se. 70 RA patients of each gender were cross-sectionally evaluated following a pre-established protocol. Univariate and multivariate analyses focused in the different gender-associated comorbidity profiles and how they impact in the quality of life and disability of RA patients as assessed by the SF-36 and the Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (M-HAQ), respectively. Researchers found:

• Different comorbidity profiles were found in both genders, with higher frequencies of diabetes mellitus, peptic ulcer, ischemic heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among men and of depression and osteoporosis among women.
• The M-HAQ was lower in women than in men as there were some sub-scales of the SF-36, general health, physical functioning, and the physical summary component.