An observational study in Rheumatoid Artritis, Psoriatic Arthritis and Liver Fibrosis, sponsored by Vastra Gotaland Region. Completed at 1 site in Sweden. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 70 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-10.
Sponsored by Vastra Gotaland Region · Observational
METOHEP is a cross-sectional observational study with the aim to study associations of methotrexate (MTX) exposure and metabolic characteristics with non-invasive liver stiffness and steatosis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
600 studies on the registry are indexed under Arthritis, Psoriatic; 129 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 200 is below the median of 300 across 243 observational studies indexed under Arthritis, Psoriatic.
Browse Arthritis, Psoriatic studies →Vastra Gotaland Region is the lead sponsor of 275 studies on the registry; 109 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Patients with RA och PsA followed at the Department of Rheumatology at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.
Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.
Hepatitis B tests
Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.
Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Patients receiving MTX at assessment, for whom MTX initiation, current weekly dose, treatment duration and cumulative exposure could be established.
Patients with RA or PsA with no prior methotrexate exposure
Liver stiffness measured using transient elastography (FibroScan Mini 430, Echosens)
FibroScan utilizes mechanical shear waves and ultrasound technology to assess the physical properties of liver tissue. Elevated liver stiffness is indicative of fibrosis. Elevated liver stiffness was defined as FibroScan ≥7.1 kPa, using pre-specified cutoffs
Time frame: One examination at enrollment
Liversteatosis measured with controlled attenuation parameter (CAP)
Cap measures the degree of ultrasound beam attenuation caused by intracellular lipid droplets to non-invasively estimate hepatic steatosis in decibels per meter (dB/m). Grade 0, no steatosis: CAP\<238 dB/m Grade 1, mild steatosis: CAP 238-259 dB/m Grade 2, moderate steatosis: CAP 260-290 dB/m Grade 3, severe steatosis: CAP \>290 dB/m
Time frame: One examination at enrollment
Liverstiffness measured with acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI)
ARFI imaging is an ultrasound-based elastography technique used for the non-invasive quantification of tissue mechanical properties, primarily tissue stiffness. Elevated liver stiffness was defined as ARFI ≥5.1 kPa, using pre-specified cutoffs
Time frame: One examination at enrollment
Blood-based liver fibrosis index: the fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4)
FIB-4 = age × AST / \[platelet count × √ALT\], using transaminase activities in U/L and platelet count in ×10⁹/L. Range min 0.1 - max 40. (Theoretically \>0- infinity) FIB-4 \<1.3 high negative predictive value, ruling out advanced hepatic fibrosis. FIB-4 \>3.25 highly suggestive of advanced hepatic fibrosis or established cirrhosis
Time frame: One examination at enrollment
Blood-based liver fibrosis index: the aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI)
APRI = \[(AST / 40 U/L) / platelet count\] × 100 Range: min 0.1- max 20 (Theoretically \>0- infinity) APRI \<0.5 high negative predictive value, ruling out advanced hepatic fibrosis APRI \>2.0 highly suggestive of advanced hepatic fibrosis or established cirrhosis
Time frame: One examination at enrollment
PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.
Plan to share: No
Ran from Jun 2023 to primary completion in Apr 2025, 22 months.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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