Pulmonary involvement in newly diagnosed and untreated rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis: a prospective longitudinal study

Objectives To longitudinally assesses pulmonary involvement in newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients over a 12-months follow-up. To identify biomarkers and establish a diagnostic algorithm for monitoring pulmonary changes. Methods Newly diagnosed RA and PsA patients were examined with clinical and laboratory assessments, pulmonary function tests (PFT), and chest radiography (CXR) at three-months intervals for one year. Results The study enrolled 50 patients (26 RA, 24 PsA) and 26 controls. At baseline, 37.0% of arthritis patients (50.0% RA, 22.7% PsA) exhibited radiographic pulmonary involvement, with 64.7% being asymptomatic. No association was observed between CXR and PFTs. Reduced pathological breathing width was noted in 64.0% of patients (RA 69.2%, PsA 58.3%) and 23.1% of controls ( p