AB0179 BEYOND DISEASE ACTIVITY, PAIN, “TIME” AND “TIMING” ACCOUNT FOR DISABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: RESULTS FROM A REAL-LIFE COHORT

Background: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) suffer from joint pain, stiffness and fatigue and are therefore limited in their physical activities. Since functional disability is a major determinant of quality of life in patients with RA, an optimized approach should focus on the maintenance of functional ability. Objectives: To evaluate self-reported disability in RA patients and to identify its influencing clinical and demographic factors in a real-life cohort of patients with RA. Methods: Cross-sectional study of consecutive patients with RA fulfilling the ACR/EULAR 2010 and/or ACR 1987 RA classification criteria, followed in a Portuguese tertiary care centre. Variables collected included socio-demographic and clinical variables (disease duration; time from symptoms onset to diagnosis, classified as short (≤ 2 years) and long (> 2 years); time of diagnosis, categorised as Results: A total of 251 patients were included (78.9% female, aged 62.0±12.1 years, disease duration 16.7±11.2 years), with a mean DAS28-CRP-3V of 2.24 ±0.87, with 65.3% being in remission or low disease activity. The mean HAQ score was 1.2±0.8. Over half of the patients (56.2%) reported moderate-to-severe disability. In the univariate analysis, moderate-to-severe disability was more frequent in female patients (60.6% vs 39.6%, p 2 years) (OR=7.97, 95%CI 1.88-34.06; p=0.005) and pain (OR=1.05, 95%CI 1.03-1.08; p Conclusion: Functional disability remains a major problem in our patients with RA, despite clinical remission. Beyond non-modifiable factors, disease activity and pain are associated with higher disability. Moreover, in the subgroup of patients diagnosed after 2010 a long time to diagnosis was the major predictor of disability. However, a large variance of the reported functional disability remains unexplained. Hence, other factors should be properly evaluated in our patients in order to achieve a more holistic approach aiming at reducing functional disability. Disclosure of Interests: Helena Assuncao: None declared, Ana Rita Prata: None declared, Mariana Luis: None declared, Luisa Brites: None declared, Joao Dinis de Freitas: None declared, Flavio Costa: None declared, Stefanie Silva: None declared, Jose Antonio P. da Silva Grant/research support from: Pfizer, Abbvie, Consultant of: Pfizer, AbbVie, Roche, Lilly, Novartis, Catia Duarte: None declared