The following is a summary of “Association Between Patient Perception of Disease Status and Different Components of the Minimal Disease Activity Criteria in Psoriatic Arthritis,” published in the April 2025 issue of Journal of Rheumatology by Yazji et al. 

Minimal disease activity (MDA) is a treatment target in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Its alignment with patient perception remains unclear. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess if minimal disease activity (MDA) reflected good disease control in patients with PsA regardless of unmet components. 

They analyzed data from the ReFlaP study (NCT03119805), a cross-sectional international study of adults with PsA. Patients self-reported remission (REM), low disease activity (LDA), or neither. They assessed the relationship between patient-reported status and MDA components using point-biserial correlation, chi-square test, odds ratios, and specificity. 

The results showed 88.4% patients of MDA reported REM/LDA. Pain was the most commonly unmet component. A moderate to strong correlation existed between the number of MDA components met and REM/LDA. MDA and REM/LDA were significantly associated regardless of unmet component, except entheses. Specificity was >90% for all components. Odds of poor status were significant only when pain visual analog score (VAS) <1 was unmet, but not in sensitivity analysis. 

Investigators found strong agreement between MDA status and patient-reported good status regardless of unmet component. They noted pain <1 or 2 on a 0–10 VAS was hardest to meet, with high specificity minimizing misclassification. 

Source: jrheum.org/content/52/4/362