Op0271 increased risk of dementia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a nationwide population-based cohort study

BackgroundThere have been conflicting results of previous studies on the association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the risk of dementia.ObjectivesIn this study, we aimed to investigate the association between RA and dementia in a large nationwide population-based cohort.MethodsAmong patients diagnosed with RA between 2010 and 2017, patients who had undergone a national health examination within two years prior to RA diagnosis were included in the study (n = 138,592). Control group included age- and sex-matched non-RA controls who received a health check-up at the same time as RA patients (n = 692,960). The primary outcome of the study was incident dementia, which was defined by an ICD-10 code and the use of dementia medications. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis were used for the analysis.ResultsMean follow-up duration of the study was 4.7 ± 2.2 years. RA patients had a 1.2 times higher risk of dementia than controls (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.19, 95% CI 1.16–1.23). In patients with RA, the aHR for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was 1.21 (95% CI 1.67-1.25) and the aHR for vascular dementia (VD) was 1.10 (95% CI 0.99-1.21). In a stratified analysis according to age, gender, lifestyle factors and comorbidities, the association between RA and dementia was consistently found.ConclusionIn a large nationwide population-based cohort, RA was associated with an increased risk of incident dementia. Appropriate evaluation of dementia is required when cognitive impairment occurs in RA patients. Further studies are warranted to identify mechanisms of increased risk of dementia in RA patients.Disclosure of InterestsNone declared