The Usual Suspects: Established and Emerging Predictor Variables for Remission in Rheumatoid Arthritis

There are several potential factors that predict the outcome of remission in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). These reflect various domains including personal characteristics, health status, disease characteristics and treatment exposures. While some predictors are consistently identified across a variety of settings, others have limited or conflicting data, and new potential predictors are emerging. In this review, we summarize the available evidence to highlight predictors that should be incorporated into all rheumatology prognostic research, namely age, sex, smoking status, body mass index, function, disease duration, rheumatoid factor status, disease activity at treatment start, inflammatory markers, and treatment strategy. We identify opportunities for improving the measurement and characterization of these factors for improved precision in determining prognosis. We propose new predictors that could expand our understanding of factors influencing the attainment of remission, but that require further investigation.