The clinical effectiveness of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is well established, and clinical trial data also suggest that these targeted synthetic DMARDs might be particularly effective at treating pain associated with RA. In a new observational study, JAK inhibitors produced improvements in pain similar to or greater than those of biologic DMARDs in clinical practice, consistent with findings from clinical trials.

The retrospective cohort study used Swedish national register data from 8,430 patients with RA who were treated with a JAK inhibitor, a TNF inhibitor, an IL-6 inhibitor, the B cell-depletion agent rituximab or the T cell co-stimulation modulator abatacept. At 3 months, mean pain scores (measured on a visual analogue scale) had improved in all treatment groups. JAK inhibitor treatment was associated with a greater decrease in pain than TNF inhibitor treatment (mean additional decrease, 4.0 mm). In comparison with biologic DMARDs other than TNF inhibitors, JAK inhibitors were at least as effective in reducing pain.