Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,203 studies31 sourcesUpdated 33 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BYArthritis research & therapy

Comorbidity management in inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a dual-perspective survey of patients and rheumatologists.

  • Vanessa Bartsch1
  • Basel Habboub2
  • Johannes Knitza3
  • Mathias Ausserwinkler4
  • Stefan Knop5
  • Georg Schett6
  • Axel J Hueber7,8
8 affiliations
  1. 1Division of Rheumatology, Klinikum Nürnberg, Paracelsus Medical University, Prof.-Ernst-Nathan-Str. 1, Nuremberg, 90419, Germany.
  2. 2Department of Geriatrics, Klinikum Nürnberg, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg, Germany.
  3. 3Institute for Digital Medicine, Philipps University Marburg and University Hospital of Giessen and Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
  4. 4First Department of Medicine, Uniklinikum Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Landeskrankenhaus, Austria.
  5. 5Department of Internal Medicine 5, Klinikum Nürnberg, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg, Germany.
  6. 6Department of Internal Medicine 3 - Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.
  7. 7Division of Rheumatology, Klinikum Nürnberg, Paracelsus Medical University, Prof.-Ernst-Nathan-Str. 1, Nuremberg, 90419, Germany. [email protected].
  8. 8Department of Internal Medicine 3 - Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany. [email protected].
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Background

Comorbidities are major contributors to morbidity and mortality in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRDs). We assessed real-world implementation of European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) points to consider for comorbidity management and perceptions of responsibility.Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional anonymous online survey among patients with IRDs and rheumatologists in Germany. Two questionnaires assessed demographics, perceived responsibility for comorbidity management, and implementation of preventive measures across five domains: cardiovascular risk, infections, malignancies, depression, and osteoporosis. Responses were analysed using descriptive statistics and group comparisons (chi-square, Fisher's exact, Mann-Whitney U tests).Results

A total of 2,213 patients with IRDs and 140 rheumatologists participated. Patient-reported implementation of comorbidity management in routine care was low across all domains (mean 28.8%). Rheumatologists reported substantially higher implementation than patients across all domains, including blood pressure monitoring (83.6% vs 33.8%) and vaccination checks (77.9% vs 33.2%). Most rheumatologists (69.3%) reported that no structured comorbidity screening was in place. Reported barriers included lack of time (91.4%), unclear responsibilities (48.6%), staff shortages (40.0%), and lack of reimbursement (35.0%). Rheumatologists favoured shared responsibility with general practitioners (GPs) for documentation (61.4%) and screening (48.6%), whereas treatment was more often assigned to GPs alone (60.7%). Patients more frequently assigned primary responsibility to GPs, particularly for cardiovascular risk management (72.6%) and vaccinations (73.8%).Conclusions

Comorbidity management in IRDs is poorly implemented in routine care, and perceptions of responsibility differ between patients and rheumatologists. Clearer role definitions, stronger guidance from rheumatology organisations, and practical tools are needed to improve implementation.

Related

  1. COVID-19 severity and early inflammatory biomarkers in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a multicenter cohort study
    Andreea-Iulia Vlădulescu-Trandafir, Gelu Onose, Violeta-Claudia Bojincă +5
    Journal of medicine and lifePeer-reviewedCC BYFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMC
  2. Integrated Profiling of TNF Superfamily Ligands and Lung Inflammatory Markers in Tuberculosis-Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Comorbidity
    Nandita Ganesh, Rajesh Kumar Radhakrishnan, Fathima Sumaira +6
    Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland)Peer-reviewedCC BYFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMC
  3. Evolution of direct and indirect costs of chronic systemic auto-immune and inflammatory rheumatic diseases in France: a 2015–2023 nationwide population-based study
    Laurent Arnaud, Thierry Martin, François Chasset +1
    RMD OpenPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textGeneral medicineDOAJ
  4. Knowledge, attitude and practice of patients with immune-mediated and inflammatory rheumatic diseases towards mental health and psychological interventions
    Shanshan Li, Xue Wang, Hong Liu +6
    Frontiers in Public HealthPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textEpidemiology & public healthCrossref
  5. Global mortality trends of inflammatory rheumatic diseases between 2000 and 2019
    D Rozza, E Cipolletta, F Gonnelli +3
    The European Journal of Public HealthPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC 4.0Full textGeneral medicinePMCEurope PMC

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{bartsch2026comorbidity,
  title = {{Comorbidity management in inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a dual-perspective survey of patients and rheumatologists.}},
  author = {Vanessa Bartsch and Basel Habboub and Johannes Knitza and Mathias Ausserwinkler and Stefan Knop and Georg Schett and Axel J Hueber},
  journal = {Arthritis research \& therapy},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1186/s13075-026-03924-5},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42926213},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Comorbidity management in inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a dual-perspective survey of patients and rheumatologists.
AU  - Vanessa Bartsch
AU  - Basel Habboub
AU  - Johannes Knitza
AU  - Mathias Ausserwinkler
AU  - Stefan Knop
AU  - Georg Schett
AU  - Axel J Hueber
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/23
JO  - Arthritis research & therapy
DO  - 10.1186/s13075-026-03924-5
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42926213
AB  - Background  Comorbidities are major contributors to morbidity and mortality in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRDs). We assessed real-world implementation of European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) points to consider for comorbidity management and perceptions of responsibility.Methods  We conducted a cross-sectional anonymous online survey among patients with IRDs and rheumatologists in Germany. Two questionnaires assessed demographics, perceived responsibility for comorbidity management, and implementation of preventive measures across five domains: cardiovascular risk, infections, malignancies, depression, and osteoporosis. Responses were analysed using descriptive statistics and group comparisons (chi-square, Fisher's exact, Mann-Whitney U tests).Results  A total of 2,213 patients with IRDs and 140 rheumatologists participated. Patient-reported implementation of comorbidity management in routine care was low across all domains (mean 28.8%). Rheumatologists reported substantially higher implementation than patients across all domains, including blood pressure monitoring (83.6% vs 33.8%) and vaccination checks (77.9% vs 33.2%). Most rheumatologists (69.3%) reported that no structured comorbidity screening was in place. Reported barriers included lack of time (91.4%), unclear responsibilities (48.6%), staff shortages (40.0%), and lack of reimbursement (35.0%). Rheumatologists favoured shared responsibility with general practitioners (GPs) for documentation (61.4%) and screening (48.6%), whereas treatment was more often assigned to GPs alone (60.7%). Patients more frequently assigned primary responsibility to GPs, particularly for cardiovascular risk management (72.6%) and vaccinations (73.8%).Conclusions  Comorbidity management in IRDs is poorly implemented in routine care, and perceptions of responsibility differ between patients and rheumatologists. Clearer role definitions, stronger guidance from rheumatology organisations, and practical tools are needed to improve implementation.
SN  - 1478-6354
SN  - 1478-6362
ER  -