Obesity frequently coexists with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and has been linked to less favorable clinical outcomes. Researchers examined the association between BMI and clinical response to Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors using data from 11,883 patients with RA (mean age, 52.9 years) across 16 clinical trials. Researchers evaluated the association between BMI and the likelihood of achieving a 20% improvement based on American College of Rheumatology (ACR) core set variables (ACR20), as well as changes in the Disease Activity Score based on the evaluation of 28 joints and C-reactive protein (DAS28-CRP).

Higher BMI was associated with reduced JAK inhibitor efficacy. Compared with healthy -weight patients, the adjusted relative risk of achieving an ACR20 response was 0.94 with overweight (BMI 25 to <30 kg/m²), 0.92 with class 1 obesity (30 to <35 kg/m²), 0.88 with class 2 obesity (35 to <40…