BackgroundPatients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at risk for poor functional outcomes, affecting quality of life (QoL). SF-36 is a validated instrument to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in various domains of physical and mental health1, and has been validated in RA. Nevertheless, data on the impact of RA disease activity on SF-36 scores in Greek patients are lacking.ObjectivesTo compare SF-36 scores in Greek RA patients versus the general population and to assess the impact of disease activity on HRQoL.MethodsCross-sectional study in RA patients followed in the Department of Rheumatology, Asklepieio Voulas General Hospital (05-10/2021). Demographic characteristics, state of disease activity and current treatment for RA were recorded at most recent visit. All patients completed SF-36 questionnaires and were classified in three subgroups of DAS28-disease activity: i) Remission or Low disease activity (LDA), ii) Moderate disease activity (MDA), and iii) High disease activity (HDA). Data from the SF-36 validation study in the Greek general population with 1007 participants, were used as historical controls2. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA and linear regression were used for statistical analyses.Results107 patients participated in the study (80,4% females, mean (SD) age 63.3 (12.1) years, 64.5% seropositive, 72% overweight or obese). One third (n=36) were active smokers and 63% (n=67) were receiving a biologic disease modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD).Patients with RA exhibited low scores in all SF-36 domains and reported significantly worse results compared to the general population (Figure 1).Figure 1.Physical component score (PCS) and Mental component score (MCS) of the SF-36 showed a negative correlation with DAS28 (β= -8.28, p= <0.001 and β= -6.2, p= <0.001, respectively). Patients with remission or LDA exhibited better SF-36 scores compared to the other subgroups; moreover, patients with MDA had better SF-36 scores than those with HDA (Table 1). When patients with MDA were further divided into low- and high-moderate disease activity (DAS28: 3,21-4,19 and 4,2-5,1, respectively), no significant difference in any SF-36 domain was found between the two groups.Table 1.SF-36 domain mean±SDRDA or LDA 51%MDA 37,2%HAD 11,7%p-valuePF48,43 ±34,2332,14 ±19,8320 ± 19,750.003RP34,9 ±43,6820,71 ± 32,920 ± 00.015BP51,2 ±30,4728,24 ± 24,4918,86 ± 23,54<0.001GH48,83 ±4541,57 ± 24,2532,27 ± 19,540.043VT49,48 ±22,2234,14 ± 18,5730,91 ± 15,940.001SF52,16 ±35,3340,36 ± 27,1328,41 ± 14,890.041RE39,01 ±44,6827,62 ± 40,8118,18 ± 34,520.246MH54,08 ±23,2447,57 ± 21,7540 ± 18,590.124ConclusionHRQoL assessed by SF-36 is dampened in RA patients, in both physical and mental component. Disease activity had a negative impact on both physical and mental components of HRQoL. Patients with remission or LDA showed better HRQoL outcomes, suggesting that the treat-to-target approach may also positively affect QoL.References[1]Ware, J. E., Jr, & Gandek, B. (1998) Journal of clinical epidemiology, 51(11), 903–912.[2]Pappa E et al. Qual Life Res. 2005 Jun;14(5):1433-8Disclosure of InterestsNone declared