The association of obesity with disease activity, functional ability and quality of life in early rheumatoid arthritis: data from the Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Study/Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Network UK prospective cohorts.

Objectives: To examine associations between BMI and disease activity, functional ability and quality of life in RA.

Methods: Data from two consecutive, similarly designed UK multicentre RA inception cohorts were used: the Early RA Study (ERAS) and the Early RA Network (ERAN). Recruitment figures/median follow-up for the ERAS and ERAN were 1465/10 years (maximum 25 years), and 1236/6 years (maximum 10 years), respectively.