Professional impact in rheumatoid arthritis and the effect of a therapeutic education program

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis is a potential source of significant disability whose prevention requires early and multidisciplinary management. We evaluated its impact on professional activity as well as the impact of a therapeutic education program. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective, unicentric, interventional, non-randomized study of the before-after type, from December 2014 to March 2017. Occupational disability was assessed according to the professional future of the patients, initially then at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months to assess the impact of the educational program. Results: One hundred and thirty-one patients participated in the study, of which 95.4% were women. The average age was 53.53 years, 23.7% had permanent professional status. The mean disease duration was 11.20 years. Furthermore, 40.45% of the patients were overweight and 50.4% had joint stiffness, and joint deformities were noted in 88.5%. Regarding medical treatment, 87% were on Dmards, and Methotrexate was prescribed in 71% of cases. In addition, 67.2% were on corticosteroid therapy. The professional impact of rheumatoid arthritis was evaluated according to the professional future of the patients. Thus, after the educational treatment and compared to admission, at the last control there was a clear reduction in absenteeism from 16.7% to 6.7%, and a reduction in the rate of long-term work stoppages. and short term (from 38.9% to 33.3% and from 22.2% to 6.7%) respectively, testifying to the effectiveness of our educational action. Conclusion: In our series, the occupational disability caused by rheumatoid arthritis is reflected in various aspects. The therapeutic education action was favorable in our polyarthritic patients. National multicenter studies are essential to confirm our results.