SP0092 The vicious circle of educational level and risk of poverty in rheumatoid arthritis results of a cross sectional multicenter study in germany
This lecture will provide an overview on the dimensions of poverty in general and describe methods of assessing the risk of poverty in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) Based on results of a cross sectional multicenter study of RA patients from outpatient clinics in Brandenburg and Saarland, Germany, this talk will give a rationale for how patients with RA are threatened by poverty due to treatment related expenses, disability and early retirement compared to the general population. It will be highlighted, that the equalized disposable income of RA patients is significantly lower than in general population and RA patients share a doubled risk of poverty, even in social welfare well secured countries such as Germany. Further, the talk will demonstrate that both lower educational level and socio economic state are associated with more severe disease course of RA and various underlying mechanisms will be discussed. Disclosure of Interest M. Zaenker Consultant for: Celgene, Hospira, MSD, Roche