ACR RISE registry: greater weight loss on GLP-1 RAs tracks with lower RAPID3 in RA and PsA
In a retrospective analysis of 1880 patients with RA or PsA, each 5% of body weight lost on GLP-1 RAs was associated with a 0.30-point lower RAPID3 score.
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who lost more weight after starting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) reported clinically meaningful improvements in symptoms, according to a study presented at ACR Convergence 2026, held November 6 to 11 in Orlando, Florida, and reported by endocrinologyadvisor.com. The analysis covered 16,848 patients who started GLP-1 RA therapy. A subcohort of 1880 had complete checkups both before the start and one year later rheumatologyadvisor.com
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Study design and cohort
The researchers ran a retrospective cohort study using the ACR Rheumatology Informatics System for Effectiveness (RISE) registry, with data from January 2018 to September 2024. Eligible adults had at least one disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) prescription before starting semaglutide or tirzepatide. Patients who began new DMARDs during follow-up were excluded to avoid confounding.
Among the 16,848 patients, 67.3% had RA and 80.2% were women. The mean age was 57.9±11.1 years.
Weight loss and RAPID3 scores
In the 1880-patient subcohort, participants lost an average of 15.6 pounds over one year. Their scores on the Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data 3 (RAPID3), a standard clinic survey of joint pain, physical function and overall well-being, dropped by an average of 1.3 points rheumatologyadvisor.com
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Multivariate linear regression models showed that each 5% decrease in total body weight corresponded to a 0.30-point decrease in RAPID3. Each 5% of weight loss also raised the likelihood of reaching a minimal clinically important difference in RAPID3 by 14% (adjusted odds ratio, 1.14).
Greater weight loss was associated with improvements in the RAPID3 composite and component scores, with the strongest associations for pain and patient global assessment. The authors reported that the associations were generally consistent across RA and PsA. They described weight reduction as a potentially modifiable factor associated with improved patient-reported outcomes in these conditions.
The work is a retrospective registry analysis, and its findings are associations. It was presented as Abstract 0867 by Moura C, McCormick N, Zhang J, Holladay E, Xie F, Mehta T, Baker J and Curtis J.
