BackgroundOsteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, affecting more than 500 million people globally. OA is characterized by chronic mechanical pain and stiffness in the joints, limiting patient physical activities, leading to sedentarism, and disability. The results of the French web-based survey “Stop OA” (N=4227 participants) conducted in 2013 were presented at EULAR 2014. They evidenced the heavy burden of OA in France.ObjectivesThe survey was repeated in France/Belgium between 2019 and 2021 (N=3465). This study aimed at assessing the impact of OA on patient quality of life and looking at a potential evolution between the two surveys.MethodsParticipants were invited to complete the survey questionnaire online via the website www.stop-arthrose.org. The questions focused on demographic and socio-economic aspects, history of the disease, physical activities, beliefs about OA, its impact on daily life, assessment of health status and the consequences, as well as the needs and expectations of the participants.Results3465 questionnaires (France N = 2822, Belgium N = 643) were thus collected between September 2019 and January 2021. The average filling time of the survey was 40 minutes. In the 2021 survey, 80.8% of participants (mean age 60 years, 80.3% women) declared that OA had a negative impact on their morale and 64.1% that they had a deteriorated self-image due to the disease. 25% of participants thought that difficulties in their couple were caused by OA and 33% reported problems in sexual life. 24.8% found it hard to cope with the discouragement generated by the disease. Even if psychological repercussions were observed in 21.2%, less than 5% consulted a psychologist. The impact on leisure (78.1%) and family life (61.9%) was also significant, as well as on social activities (58.0%) and professional life (43.7%). The disease also hindered walking (67.4%) and prevented daily actions (32.0%). Some help was necessary, mainly for gardening or tinkering (28.7%), picking up or opening objects (22.9%) as well as shopping and household chores (17.7%). 50% reported difficulty falling asleep and 67.6% were being woken up at night during their sleep because of pain caused by OA. Fatigue was difficult to live with for 47.9% of the participants. Compared to the results of the 2013 survey, there was no significant improvement evidenced in any of the areas studied.ConclusionOA represents a real burden that affects the mental health of patients, their relationships and the quality of their sleep. There has been no improvement of OA impact in patient’ quality of life between the two surveys (i.e., 8 years). This reflects the lack of resources for research to find new treatments and implement evidence-based therapeutic strategies in the current medical practice. A better understanding of these repercussions will allow effective strategies to be adopted in order to deal with these issues.References[1]L. Grange, F. Rannou, F. Berembaum, P. Richette, F. Beroud, A. Chaussier-Delboy, X. Chevalier, C. Dreux, P.A. Joseph, C. Roques, A. Sautet, F. Srour, J. Giraud, D.R. Bertholon, F. Nock, H. Servy, First national osteoarthritis patients survey in France: patients insights first, 2014 PARE00022.AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements to expanscience, Labhra, UBSA, and Tilman laboratory for their institutional supportDisclosure of InterestsLAURENT GRANGE Speakers bureau: Expanscience, IBSA, Consultant of: Lohmann & Rauscher, Grunenthal, MSD, Grant/research support from: Thuasne, Sublimed, Remedee, Celine Mathy: None declared, Francoise Alliot Launois: None declared, Gerard Chales: None declared, Laurence Seidel: None declared, Adelin Albert: None declared, Rik Lories Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Celgene, Eli-Lilly, Galapagos, Janssen, Kabi-Fresenius, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Sandoz, Biosplice (Samumed) and UCB., Consultant of: Abbvie, Amgen (formerly Celgeneà, Eli-Lilly, Galapagos, Janssen, Kabi-Fresenius, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Sandoz, Biosplice (Samumed) and UCB., Yves Henrotin Consultant of: Tilman, Nestlé, Wobenzym, Genequine, Expanscience, Lahra, Biose
