Systematic screening for multimorbidities in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases enhanced preventive medication use and reduced hospitalisations: an exposed-non-exposed study.

Rational: Studies are needed to determine if multimorbidity screening and management reduce the rate of multimorbidity accumulation in patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD).

Objectives: This study evaluates the impact of systematic screening programme on patient care and hospitalisation rates.

Methods: Patients with IRD who participated in the screening programme (exposed patients) were identified within the French national health database and matched with controls. Two sets of analysis were performed: one with multivariate analysis and a second using a propensity score matching to ensure comparability between exposed patients and controls. The primary endpoint (PE) was a composite score assessing the dispensation of multimorbidity-preventing drugs, including vaccines, lipid-lowering agents, antiosteoporotic medications and antiplatelet drugs, during the year following the index date.

Results: The first analysis included 286 exposed patients and 858 controls, demonstrating a higher rate of meeting the PE in exposed patients (adjusted OR=1.6 (1.2-2.2), p<0.01). Propensity score matching resulted in 281 exposed patients and 281 controls. Exposed patients exhibited a significantly higher rate of meeting the PE compared with controls (54.8% vs 44.5%; OR=1.5; p=0.015), with increased utilisation of vaccines, cholesterol-lowering drugs and antiosteoporotic medications. Furthermore, emergency admission and hospitalisations for fracture, cardiovascular events or infection were significantly less frequent in the exposed group (7.1% vs 15.3%; OR=0.42, p<0.01), with a reduction in severe infections (0.7% vs 3.9%; p=0.03).

Conclusion: Systematic multimorbidity screening in patients with IRD boosted preventive medication use and reduced hospital admissions, justifying time and resource allocation for screening.