FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY IN EARLY RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS - DESCRIPTION ANDRISK-FACTORS

Objective. To provide a description and identify risk factors for func tional disability in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods. A cohor t of 337 patients with early RA with disease duration under 5 years wa s constituted in 2 areas in Fiance and The Netherlands. Examination in cluded the Ritchie index, the presence of nodes and other extraarticul ar manifestations, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). The H ealth Assessment Questionnaire, adapted and validated in the French an d Dutch languages, was used to assess functional disability. Results. The results allowed for the cross sectional description of a marked ea rly functional disability, with a score of 1 (adjusted for disease act ivity variables) from the first year of the disease. Functional disabi lity was increasing nonlinearly with the disease duration in a quadrat ic model. Disease activity variables, namely ESR and Ritchie index, we re identified as other important components of functional disability. Conclusion. Consequences for the early management of RA are underlined .