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Maria Intriago, Genessis Maldonado, Roberto Guerrero, Mario Moreno, Letty Moreno, Carlos Rios Rheumatology Department, Universidad Espiritu Santo, Guayaquil, EcuadorCorrespondence: Genessis Maldonado Email genesismaldonadovelez92@gmail.comIntroduction: Disability in RA is associated with loss of workdays, greater use of health resources and a higher prevalence of depression. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of functional disability and the factors associated with it.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out during January–June 2019 at a rheumatology clinic in the city of Guayaquil. Patients with pre-established RA were included. Functional disability was measured using the HAQ-DI. Data were analyzed using the statistical program SPSS v22. We compared characteristics between patients with and without disability using Student’s t-test and chi-square. A multiple logistic regression model for functional disability was made.Results: We included 395 patients, 87.8% female and 12.2% male with a mean age of 51.4± 12 years and mean duration of disease 13.8± 7 years. Most patients had extra-articular manifestations (80.8%) and comorbidities (81.3%). The mean HAQ-DI was 0.8± 0.9, with a prevalence of disability of 26.6%. We found a statistically significant relationship between disability and female sex (p=0.018), age (p=0.020), presence of extra-articular manifestations (p=0.008), myalgia (p< 0.001) and fatigue (p< 0.001). In addition, patients with disabilities had a lower employment rate (26.7%) compared to those without disability (45.5%, p=0.001). In the multivariate logistic analysis, only depression (p=0.029), diabetes (p=0.003), SJC (p=0.001) and VAS of pain (p=0.004) were significantly related to functional disability.Conclusion: Disability affects a quarter of patients with RA. Among the determinants of disability, we found female sex, older age, grade of pain, inflammatory markers and the level of disease activity.Keywords: rheumatoid arthritis, disability, Ecuador

Maria Intriago, Genessis Maldonado, Jenny Cardenas, Carlos Rios Rheumatology Department, Universidad Espiritu Santo, Guayaquil, EcuadorCorrespondence: Genessis MaldonadoRheumatology Department, Universidad Espirtu Santo, Km 2.5 Vía la Puntilla Samborondón, Guayaquil, EcuadorTel +593 1 786 342 4976Email gcmaldonado@uees.edu.ecPurpose: To evaluate quality of life in patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and identify the factors that negatively affect it.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with patients with established RA from a rheumatology center in Ecuador. The RA Quality of Life (RAQoL) questionnaire was used to assess QoL and the Health Assessment Questionnaire — disability index (HAQ-DI) questionnaire for functional capacity. In addition, demographics, clinical characteristics, and markers of disease activity were included. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.Results: Of 186 patients, 89.8% were women, with a mean age of 51 years, 86.6% had symmetrical polyarticular involvement, 40.3% erosions, 46.8% morning stiffness, 46.8% xerophthalmia, and 39.2% fatigue. Depression was the most frequent comorbidity — 42.5%. The mean HAQ-DI score was 0.8, and 26.9% had functional disability. The mean RAQoL score was 7.2. Xerophthalmia, xerostomia, fatigue, morning stiffness, and depression were related to higher scores in the RAQoL (p