Evaluation of characteristics of anemia of chronic disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

This article presents the results of an analysis of 90 medical records of inpatients treated in the rheumatology department of the Minsk Scientific and Practical Center for Surgery, Transplantology, and Hematology. The selection criteria were the presence of rheumatoid arthritis and anemia of chronic disease. Anemia of chronic disease in rheumatoid arthritis was found to be observed in 51.1 % of cases and is characterized primarily by mild severity (in 84.8 % of patients). It is characterized by elevated or normal serum ferritin levels. A direct correlation was found between the activity of rheumatoid arthritis and the severity of anemia of chronic disease. Patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis have more severe anemia. No relationship was found between the manifestations of anemia of chronic disease and the radiographic stage of rheumatoid arthritis.

1. Abdurahmonova, F. Revmatoidnyj artrit: prichiny, siptomy i metody lecheniya / F. Abdurahmonova // Central’no­ aziatskij zhurnal akademicheskih issledovanij. – 2025. – № 3. – S. 5–7.

2. Galushko, E. A. Osobennosti diagnostiki revmatoidnogo artrita v real’noj klinicheskoj praktike / E. A. Galushko, Sh. F. Erdes, V. N. Amirdzhanova // Nauchno-prakticheskaya revmatologiya. – 2011. – № 1. – S. 21–26.

3. Znachenie anemii hronicheskih zabolevanij v terapevticheskom stacionare / A. N. Andreev [i dr.] // Vestnik Ural’skogo gosudarstvennogo medicinskogo universiteta. – 2018. – № 2. – S. 16–18.

4. Grinshtejn, Yu. I. Anemicheskij sindrom pri revmatoidnom artrite: podhody k diagnostike i vozmozhnosti terapii / YU. I. Grinshtejn, V. V. Shabalin, V. V. Kusaev // Terapevticheskij arhiv. – 2016. – № 55 (5). – S. 107–112.

5. Weiss, G. Anemia of inflammation / G. Weiss, T. Ganz, L. T. Goodnough // Blood. – 2019. – № 133. – P. 40–50.

6. IL-6 mediates hypoferremia of inflammation by inducing the synthesis of the iron regulatory hormone hepcidin / E. Nemeth, S. Rivera [et al.] // J Clin Invest. – 2004. – № 113. – P. 1271–1276.

7. Pharmacologic inhibition of hepcidin expression reverses anemia of chronic inflammation in rats / I. Theurl, A. Schroll, T. [et al.] // Blood. – 2011. – № 118. – P. 4977–4984.

8. Hepcidin-induced hypoferremia is a critical host defense mechanism against the siderophilic bacterium Vibrio vulnificus / J. Arezes, G. Jung, [et al.] // Cell Host Microbe. – 2015. – № 17. – P. 47–57.

9. Ganz, T. Anemia of Inflammation / T. Ganz // N Engl J Med. – 2019. – № 381. – P. 1148–1157.

10. Madu, A. J. Anaemia of Chronic Disease: An In-Depth Review / A. J. Madu, M. D. Ughasoro // Med Princ Pract. – 2017. – № 26. – P. 1–9.

11. Cappellini, M. D. Iron deficiency anaemia revisited / M. D. Cappellini, K. M. Musallam, A. T. Taher // J Intern Med. – 2020. – № 287. – P. 153–170.

12. Hepcidin and hemoglobin content parameters in the diagnosis of iron deficiency in rheumatoid arthritis patients with anemia / S. Van Santen, E. C. van Dongen-Lases, F. de Vegt [et al.] Arthritis Rheum. – 2011. – № 63. – P. 3672–3680.

13. Girelli, D. Iron Metabolism in Infections: Focus on COVID-19: / D. Girelli, G. Marchi, F. Busti // Semin Hematol. – 2021. – № 58. – P. 182–187.