Effect of tumor necrosis factor alpha antagonists on sexual life of male patients with ankylosing spondylitis / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effect of tunor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) antagonist treatment and traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs treatment on the quality of life of male patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).Methods In 42 patients with AS open-label study,patients were grouped after consent,and divided into the TNF-α antagonist treatment group and the non-TNF-α antagonist treatment group.All patients were treated for 4 months.The clinical and laboratory indexes and quality of life changes were analyzed before and after the treatment.T test,Pearson's correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis with software version 13.0.Results There were no significant differences in age,disease course,disease activity and the quality of life between the two groups before treatment.Disease activity and the quality of life of the two groups after treatment were improved compared with that of before treatment.After treatment,the Bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index (BASDAI) score [(1.9±1.6) scores,(3.0±1.3) scores,t=-2.429,P=0.020],erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) [(9±6) mm/1 h,(18±17) mm/1 h,t=-2.286,P=0.031] and C reactive protein(CRP) levels [(18±21) mg/L,(62±85) mg/L,t=-2.258,P=0.035] of the TNF-α antagonists treatment group decreased significantly than those non-TNF-α antagonist treatment group,while the hemoglobin (Hb) levels [(143±15) g/L,(138±18) g/L,t=2.545,P=0.015] were significantly increased in TNF-α antagonist treatment group.The improvement extent of quality of life was more evident in TNF-α antagonists treatment group,such as,the average score [(72± 15) scores,(55±19) scores,t =3.254,P=0.002].The average degree of improvement in quality of life and BASDAI score,Bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index (BASFI) score were negatively related to the improvement in the TNF-α treatment group (r=-0.497,P=0.018; r=-0.558,P=0.007).Conclusion TNF-α antagonist treatment can not only improve the AS disease activity,but can also improve the quality of sexual life of male patients,which may direct affect on male reproductive system.