Morning stiffness and its influence on early retirement in patients with recent onset rheumatoid arthritis

To describe the association between morning stiffness (MS) and early retirement in patients with early RA.

The study used data from a prospective RA cohort of 916 RA patients with disease duration

MS was strongly associated with pain and functional capacity and to a lesser degree with joint counts and active phase responses. Severe MS in early disease had a significant impact on early retirement within the following 3 yrs. Of the 389 patients who were

Severe MS in the early course of the disease has a high impact on RA patients' decision to withdraw from working life. Great attention should be paid to the effective treatment of MS in early RA, to prevent patients from possible untimely decisions that will have long-lasting and costly consequences.