OBJECTIVES: Chronic diseases and in particular rheumatic diseases (RD) may lead to early retirement, generating substantial indirect costs to society. We compare RD to other major chronic diseases regarding their impact on the likelihood of early retirement in the Portuguese population. METHODS: The study population consisted of all people between 50 and 64 years of age (3,762 men and 4,241 women) who participated in the Portuguese National Health Survey, conducted in 2005/2006. Self-reported data were collected on health, sociodemographic and occupational factors. The effects of RD and other chronic diseases on the likelihood of early retirement and the population attributable fractions (PAF) estimates were obtained at the individual level by logistic regression. RESULTS: At the time of the survey, 19.5% of the Portuguese population with ages between 50 and 64 years old were officially retired. A larger average number of major chronic diseases per capita was found among those with early retirement when compared to active workers in the same range of age (2.0 vs. 1.4 p<0.001). RD were particularly prevalent among early retirees when compared with employees (43.3% vs. 32.1%, p<0.001). The following OR and PAF (adjusted by age, sex and region and unadjusted) were obtained: RD (OR:1.3-1.4; PAF:7.3-9.7), chronic pain (OR:1.4-1.4; PAF:6.6-7.2), hypertension [OR:1(NS)-1.3; PAF:1.1-7.1], diabetes [OR:1(NS)-1.2(NS); PAF:0-2.4], renal impairment (OR:3.3 -3.4; PAF:2.7-3.2), respiratory diseases (OR:1.5-1.7; PAF:1.5-2.1), stroke (OR:3.2-3.6; PAF:2.6-3.2), myocardial infarction [OR:1.2(NS)-1.9; PAF:0.3-1.1], cancer (OR:2.1-1.9; PAF:2.1-2.1),  depression (OR:1.5-1.2(NS); PAF:4.8-2.8) and anxiety (OR:1.6-1.5; PAF:3.7-3.5) with NS standing for not statically significant. CONCLUSIONS: From a public health angle, PAF is a good measure of the importance of a risk factor, taking into account both the strength of the association with the outcome and its prevalence in the population. Among all major chronic diseases, RD had the highest PAF estimates for early retirement in Portugal.