Ab1234 Higher Education and the Lack of Digital Ulcers Are Associated With Employment in a Cohort of Patients With Systemic Sclerosis

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystem chronic autoimmune disease, which leads to disability and possibly early retirement. Objectives: To investigate the association between employment status (ES) and disease features in an EUSTAR single-center cohort of patients with SSc. Methods: Consecutive SSc patients who were under the age of retirement in our country (62 years for women, 65 for men at the time) were examined in our center between the periods 11.2011-06.2023. Patients had a full SSc assessment and also filled in a work assessment questionnaire and two other health-related questionnaires. The associations between ES and potential predictors, such as socio-economic status, education, disease characteristics and health-related questionnaires) were tested using logistic regression adjusted for age and gender. Results: Ninety-one patients (mean±SD age 53.7±11.8 years, 22 with diffuse skin involvement, 56 with a history of digital of digital ulcers (DUs)) were included. Sixty-nine patients were retired, of which 38 because of SSc. Of those in employment, 23 spent many hours standing, 23 did manual labor and 14 had to work in a cold environment. Higher education (high school or above) and lack of history for DUs were highly associated with employment (OR (95%CI) 11.08(1.9, 61.6)), respectively 4.5 (1.3, 15.5). There were no associations of ES with patient-reported outcome measurements. Conclusion: SSc is associated with significant work disability and unemployment. Completing higher education, defined as high school or university, and the lack of history for DUs were highly associated with staying employed. REFERENCES: NIL. Acknowledgements: NIL. Disclosure of Interests: None declared.