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Learn the Facts: Illuminating non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA)

Facts about nr-axSpA

  • nr-axSpA is a painful and debilitating condition characterized by inflammatory back pain without sacroiliac joint (SIJ) structural damage37,38
  • nr-axSpA patients are a distinct subpopulation within the SpA family of diseases38
  • Up to 1.7 million individuals in the US live with nr-axSpA39-41
  • More than 50% are women41
  • Typical age of onset is 28 years42
  • On average, patients may experience a 5- to 8-year delay in diagnosis, which may lead to poorer outcomes43-45
  • Women with nr-axSpA may experience more widespread pain, fatigue, peripheral involvement, and relevant family history vs. men with nr-axSpA46,47

Patients with nr-axSpA

The SpA family38

Figure is not intended to reflect the prevalence of diseases or to suggest that a patient’s diagnosis is static.
*Includes the spine and sacroiliac joints, which connect the spine and hips. Inflammation typically starts in the SIJs and progresses to the spine (spondylitis) over time.
AS: ankylosing spondylitis; IBD: inflammatory bowel disease; nr-axSpA: non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis; ReA: reactive arthritis; SIJ: sacroiliac joint; SpA: spondyloarthritis; USpA: undifferentiated peripheral SpA.

Many patients with nr-axSpA do not convert to AS.

In a cohort of patients with axial spondyloarthritis:

88.4%

of patients with nr-axSpA on active treatment
did not convert to AS after 2 years51†

In a summary of published data:

60.0%

of patients with nr-axSpA did not convert to
AS over 10 years50

†Treatments included: NSAIDs, SAARDs, systemic therapy, and/or anti-TNF therapy.

NSAID: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; SAARD: slow-acting anti-rheumatic drug; TNF: tumor necrosis factor.

Living with the disease

Patients with nr-axSpA suffer a substantial burden similar to patients with other rheumatic diseases.52

AS: ankylosing spondylitis; nr-axSpA: non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis; PsA: psoriatic arthritis; RA: rheumatoid arthritis.

  • A potential limitation of data presented is that the cohorts are varied in size reflective of different registry enrollment
  • High scores indicate worse disease activity. These data are from the Corrona RA registry and the Corrona PsA/SpA registry, which are prospective, multicenter, observational, disease-based registries in the US that use a 0-100 VAS. No longitudinal analyses were performed to compare patients over time, and the AS and nr-axSpA patient population may not be representative of all adults with axSpA37,52
VAS: visual analog scale.