The purpose was to clarify the prevalence of traditional risk factors (RFs) and calculate the 10-year risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study included 418 patients with RA and 100 controls without inflammatory joint diseases, without a previously established diagnosis of DM1 or DM2. The presence of traditional RFs was assessed using the Finnish Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment Form (FINDRISK). There were an average 4 RFs per patient, and the most common modifiable RFs were abdominal obesity (AO) (64%) and insufficient physical activity (70%). At the same time, AO in RA patients was noted less frequently than in healthy controls. The prevalence of other RFs in RA patients and controls was not significantly different. The 10-year risk of developing DM2 was «moderate» in 20.1% and «high»/«very high» in 22.3% of RA patients, which is comparable to the data obtained in the control group. The prevalence of the majority of traditional RFs and the 10-year risk of developing DM2 in RA are comparable to those in controls without inflammatory joint diseases. The FINDRISK questionnaire is a simple method for identifying patients with RA who need to follow-up and change their lifestyle, as well as an additional examination to exclude subclinical DM2.

Keywords: questionnaire, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus, obesity, risk factors, hyperglycemia