Key clinical point: The disease burden imposed by osteoarthritis is underappreciated by physicians and the general public.

Major finding: Two years after OA patients first visited a rheumatologist, their burden of disease scores on the Multidimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire/Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data 3 remained unchanged, while scores in those with RA improved by 34%.

Study details: This was a 2-year longitudinal study of 101 patients who presented to rheumatologists with OA and 175 who presented with RA, all of whom completed a brief, standardized, burden of disease self-assessment tool in the waiting room before every office visit.

Disclosures: The presenter reported having no financial conflicts regarding this study.