Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is suggested to be a more severe disease in women than in men as disease activity appears higher in women and men meet remission criteria more often than women do. Long-term severity of RA can be analyzed from permanent joint damage in radiographs.

Objectives To study possible differences in the extent of radiographic joint damage between women and men in four early RA cohorts with 15 or more years of prospective follow-up.

Methods Early RA cohorts with prospective longitudinal observations include following cohorts: Jyväskylä Central Hospital with 70 patients from 1990’s (JYV1990) and 135 patients from the 1980’s (JYV1980), Lund University Hospital with 183 patients from the 1980’s (Lund1980), and Heinola Rheumatism Foundation Hospital with 103 patients from the 1970’s (Heinola1970). Patients are followed until to-date or until death or moving from the district. Radiographs of hands and feet were taken at regular intervals and analyzed according to the Larsen score (0-100) including MCP I-V, wrists, and MTP II-V. Patients with radiographs taken >15yr after diagnosis included 58 JYV1990 patients with mean age 64yr, mean dis duration 15yr, 37F [21 (57%) sero+], 21M [16 (76%) sero+]), 77 JYV1980 patients with mean age 64yr, mean dis duration 21yr, 56F [39 (70%) sero+], 21M[15 (71%) sero+]), 86 Lund1980 patients with mean age 66yr, mean dis duration 21yr, 64F [42 (66%) sero+], 22M [18 (82%) sero+], and 68 Heinola1970 patients with mean age 61yr, mean dis duration 19yr, 54F, 14M, all sero+.

Results Larsen score in seropositive women and men in four early RA cohorts observed over 15-20 years Larsen score(0-100) NmeanmedianpJYV1990

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Conclusions Over a 15-20 year follow-up, RA joint damage appears similar in women and men.

Disclosure of Interest None Declared