EVALUATION OF A DECRESE IN WORK PRODUCTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Objective. To study the association between the clinical manifestations and work ability in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to elaborate mathematical methods for predicting work productivity indicators according to the evaluation of the functional status of patients and disease activity.Material and Methods. A total of 185 RA patients were examined; 105 of them were employed. The mean age was 48.2±11.3 years; RA duration was 77.9±70.7 months; DAS28 4.68±1.53; visual analogue scale (VAS) score was 40.6±22.2; HAQ was 1.3±0.7. The employed patients in the test group had a longer duration but weaker activity of RA according to DAS28 as compared to those in the control group (p