POS1213 IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND LOCKDOWN ON WELLBEING ON PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATIC DISEASES. RESULTS FROM THE REUMAVID STUDY (PHASE 1)

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the emotional well-being and its associated factors in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method(s): REUMAVID is an international collaboration led by the Health & Territory Research group at the University of Seville together with a multidisciplinary team including patient organizations and rheumatologists. The study consists of an online survey gathering data from patients with a diagnosis of 15 RMDs in Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. 1,800 participants were recruited between April -July 2020. Participants were divided into:1) Participants with poor wellbeing (World Health Organization-Five Wellbeing Index (WHO-5) 50). Mann-Whitney and chi2 tests were used to analyse relations between sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, and outdoor contact with wellbeing during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistically significant variables were introduced in binary logistic regressions in order to determine their impact on poor wellbeing. Result(s): 1,777 patients with 15 different RMDs were included. The mean age was 52.7, 80.2% women, 48.7% had a university degree, and 69.7% were married or in a relationship. The most frequent diagnoses were inflammatory arthritis (75.4%). 49.0% reported poor wellbeing. Results for the logistic regressions are depicted in Table 1. Conclusion(s): Lack of elements in household facilitating outdoor contact, not belonging to a patient organization, the presence of anxiety, and not walking outside during the pandemic increased the probability of poor well-being. These results highlight the importance of environmental factors and the role of patient organizations in addressing the effects of the pandemic and its containment measures.