Comparison of employability outcomes among patients with early or long-standing rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE: To compare employability between patients with early and long-standing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and examine the relationships between improvement in employability and disease stage after adjustment for demographic characteristics, disease activity, physical functioning, and response to therapy. METHODS: We evaluated the employability data from 2 double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled studies of infliximab plus methotrexate (MTX) in patients with RA. Patients were incomplete responders to MTX in 1 study and had never taken MTX in the other study. Patients age <65 years were categorized as having early RA (< or =3 years disease duration) or long-standing RA (>3 years disease duration). Physical functioning was assessed using the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and clinical response was determined based on the American College of Rheumatology 20% improvement criteria (ACR20). RESULTS: Patients with early RA were more likely to be employable at baseline than those with long-standing RA, even after adjusting for baseline HAQ scores. Among patients who were not employable at baseline but achieved an ACR20 response after 1 year of treatment, after adjusting for baseline HAQ score, the patients with early RA who had never taken MTX were 3 times more likely to become employable compared with those with long-standing RA who had an incomplete response to MTX at baseline. CONCLUSION: In 2 clinical trials, patients with early RA were more likely to show improved employment outcomes after treatment than those with long-standing RA, suggesting intervention as early as possible in the disease course maximizes an individual patient's employment potential.     

Duration of rheumatoid arthritis influences the degree of functional improvement in clinical trials

BACKGROUND: Functional capacity is an important outcome in rheumatoid arthritis and is generally measured using the Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index (HAQ). Functional limitation incorporates both activity and damage. Because irreversible damage increases over time, the HAQ may be less likely to show improvement in late than in early rheumatoid arthritis. OBJECTIVE: To determine the relation between sensitivity to change of the HAQ and duration of rheumatoid arthritis in reports of clinical trials. METHODS: Data were pooled from clinical trials that measured responses of HAQ scores at three or six months. The effect size of the HAQ was calculated and linear regression used to predict the effect size by duration of rheumatoid arthritis at group level. Treatment effect was adjusted for by including the effect sizes of pain scores and of tender joint counts as additional independent variables in separate models. Subgroup analysis employed contemporary regimens (methotrexate, leflunomide, combination therapies, and TNF inhibitors) only. RESULTS: 36 studies with 64 active treatment arms and 7628 patients (disease duration 2.5 months to 12.2 years) were included. The effect sizes of the HAQ decreased by 0.02 for each additional year of mean disease duration using all trials, and by 0.04/year in the subgroup analysis (p相似文献   

Rheumatoid arthritis is already expensive during the first year of the disease (the Swedish TIRA project)

OBJECTIVE: To calculate direct and indirect costs in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to characterize patients generating high and low costs respectively. METHODS: Two hundred and ninety-seven patients with recent-onset (< or = 12 months) RA were recruited. Clinical/laboratory data and 'health assessment questionnaire' (HAQ) were registered at inclusion and after 3, 6 and 12 months. After 6 and 12 months, the patients completed a questionnaire concerning health-care utilization and days lost from work. A cut-off point for direct costs was set at 34,000 Swedish kronor (euro3675) defining one-third of the patients as a high-cost group and two-thirds as low-cost group. Indirect costs were calculated for patients aged <65 yr. RESULTS: Two hundred and eleven patients completed the HAQ on both occasions. Indirect costs exceeded direct costs by a factor of 2.3. Sixty three per cent experienced work disability during the first year and were identified as the 'high-indirect-cost group'. Indirect costs accounted for >70% of total costs. Direct costs included ambulatory health care (76%), hospitalization (12%) and medication (9%). Men aged > or = 65 yr had low costs compared with younger men and women of all ages. In multiple logistic regression tests, HAQ, high levels of IgM rheumatoid factor (IgM RF) and poor hand function increased the odds of entering the high-direct-cost group, and poor hand function and pain increased the odds of entering the high-indirect-cost group. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial costs were incurred during the first year after diagnosis of early RA, mainly due to work disability. Indirect costs were two to three times higher than direct costs. High levels of IgM RF, high HAQ score, poor hand function and pain increased the odds of entering high-cost groups.     

Improved functional outcome in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis treated with intramuscular gold: results of a five year prospective study

OBJECTIVE—To determine whether there is a relation between disease duration and functional outcome in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with intramuscular sodium aurothiomolate (gold) for five years.
METHODS—440 patients with RA were enrolled in a prospective trial of gold treatment. Initial demographic details were recorded. Disease activity was assessed at yearly intervals using a combination of clinical (pain score, Ritchie articular index, duration of morning stiffness) and laboratory (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C reactive protein) parameters. Change in functional status was assessed using the health status questionnaire (HAQ). Patients were stratified according to disease duration at outset (group 1= 0-2 years n=106, group 2 = >2-5 years n=93, and group 3= >5 years n=235).
RESULTS—There were no significant differences between the groups at outset. A total of 160 patients completed five years of treatment (group 1 n=44 (42%), group 2 n=37 (40%), and group 3 n=79 (34%)). Patients in group 1 had a significantly lower HAQ from year 1 to year 5 with a mean improvement of 30% at the end of the study (p<0.001). Neither group 2 nor group 3 had a significant change in their HAQ at study end. There were significant improvements in all other variables (p<0.05) in each group apart from pain in group 2.
CONCLUSION—Patients with early RA have a larger reversible component to their HAQ. Only patients with disease duration of up to two years have a longlasting improvement in their functional ability after starting intramuscular gold treatment.

Keywords: gold; rheumatoid arthritis; function; HAQ     

Cost effectiveness analysis of disease modifying antirheumatic drugs in rheumatoid arthritis

The objective was to assess the cost-effectiveness of various DMARDs compared with antimalarials (AM) for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment. The data on disease activity, functional status and societal costs were collected from a 1-year cohort of 152 patients with RA receiving at least one DMARD for ≥ 6 months. Incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated from the societal costs of DMARD treatment compared with AM per one unit of HAQ improvement. All costs were presented in 2001 US dollars. Mean (SD) societal cost of AM treatment was US$ 2,285 (1,154) per patient per year. MTX + AM was less costly and more effective than AM, as the ICER of this combination would save US$ 834 per 1 U of HAQ improvement. MTX + SSZ, leflunomide, and triple therapy (AM + MTX + SSZ) were more effective than AM with additional costs. RA treatment with non MTX-based DMARDs was not cost-effective.     

Costs and predictors of costs in rheumatoid arthritis: A prevalence‐based study

Objective

To analyze the annual cost of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its predictive factors.

Methods

Data were obtained from a 12‐month retrospective cohort of 201 RA patients, randomly selected from a rheumatology registry, through a structured interview and records of the Central Information System of the hospital. Results were divided into direct, indirect, and total costs in 2001 US dollars. A sensitivity analysis was performed. Multiple linear regression models for the different types of costs were carried out.

Results

The total cost was $2.2 million per year, with a cost attributable to RA of $2.07 million per year. The average cost per patient was $10,419 per year (ranging from $7,914 per patient per year in the best scenario to $12,922 per patient per year in the worst case). Direct costs represent nearly 70% of total costs. We found an average increment in total costs of $11,184 per year per unit of Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score (P < 0.0001) and an average annual increment of $621 per year of disease (P < 0.0001). After adjustment, the HAQ score, inability to perform housework tasks, and being permanently disabled for work were the only predictors of high costs.

Conclusion

Our data show a remarkable economic impact of RA over society and link the costs of the disease to its consequences in terms of functional disability, work disability, and housework disability.

     

A comparison of bone loss in early and late rheumatoid arthritis using quantitative phalangeal ultrasound

This study compares amplitude-dependent speed of sound (AD-SoS) measured by phalangeal ultrasonography in a group of 60 patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with those who had had the disease for more than 4 years. The mean duration of the early disease group was 1.4 years, and the mean of the established RA group was 14.6 years. Plasma viscosity (PV), C-reactive protein (CRP) and HAQ scores were obtained. Forty-nine patients with early RA had hand radiographs assessed by the Larsen score method. The DBM Sonic system was assessed on normal volunteers and a coefficient of variation of 0.88% obtained. A significant correlation was found between the left and right hands of the patients groups studied (r=0.84). The mean Z score of both hands was therefore used in comparing the two clinical groups. Results showed no correlation between CRP, PV and Z scores of AD-SoS. The HAQ scores showed a weak negative correlation, and there was no correlation between the Larsen score and Z score, or the number of swollen joints and Z score. However, the early and established groups with RA were significantly different (#E5/E5#=0.004). Within the early RA group the Z score for AD-SoS was lower in those with disease duration of less than 2 years (–1.71) than in those with disease duration of 2–4 years (–1.01). This suggests that bone loss in the fingers is greater in the first 2 years of disease than in the following 2 years, which might reflect an effect of treatment.     

Measuring utilities by the time trade-off method in Tunisian rheumatoid arthritis patients

The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility, reliability and validity of the time trade-off (TTO) in Tunisian rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. The TTO was used to measure the utility in 122 RA patients with increasing difficulty in performing activities of daily living. The 1-week test–retest reproducibility was studied in 57 patients using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Validity was evaluated by comparison with other outcome measures: utility rating scale (RS), quality of life (QOL) [arthritis impact measurement scale 2 (AIMS2), rheumatoid arthritis quality of life (RAQOL)], functional status [health assessment questionnaire (HAQ), Lee index] and disease activity score (DAS). Eight patients (6.6%) did not complete the TTO. The median value of the TTO score was 0.655 (0.019–1.000). The ICC for reliability of the TTO was 0.89 (p<0.001). The TTO showed poor to moderate correlation (Spearmans correlation coefficients between 0.2 and 0.409, p<0.01) with AIMS2, RAQOL, HAQ and Lee index. We did not find any correlation between TTO and DAS. Multiple regression analysis showed that only 32% of TTO scores could be explained. The TTO method appeared to be reliable in a group of Tunisian RA patients, but TTO values were poorly to moderately related to measures of QOL, functional ability, and disease activity. We think that TTO and RS are not feasible for use in RA patients.     

Functional status and radiographic joint damage are associated with health economic outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE: This analysis examines the relationship between the functional and radiographic measures of disease activity and the employment status in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We also assessed the influence of improvement in physical function on employability, healthcare costs, and quality of life, utilizing data collected in the ATTRACT trial. METHODS: During the ATTRACT trial, the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) disability index, radiographic damage measured by the van der Heijde modified Sharp (vdH-Sharp) score, employment status, healthcare resource utilization, and quality of life measured by Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form-36 were assessed at baseline and again periodically through Week 54. Clinically important improvement was defined as an improvement in the HAQ of > or = 0.25 from baseline to Week 54. RESULTS: There was a significant association at baseline between functional status and the percentages of patients employed. Increased radiographic joint damage was associated with lower full-time employment rate, with patients in the 2 highest quartiles (vdH-Sharp score > 51.5) of radiographic damage having lower rates of full-time employment than those with less damage. During the ATTRACT trial, patients who achieved a clinically important improvement in HAQ scores had a significant improvement in their employability (21% vs 3%; p < 0.001), in their time lost from work (7 vs 30 days; p = 0.012), in their total/direct medical costs (7093/6791 US dollars vs 11,712/10,039 US dollars; p < 0.001), and in their quality of life (p < 0.001) compared with those who did not demonstrate this improvement. CONCLUSION: Functional disability and radiographic joint damage are correlated with employment in patients with RA. Clinically important improvement in HAQ scores is associated with substantial health economic and quality of life benefits for patients with RA.     

Costs and predictors of costs in rheumatoid arthritis: a prevalence-based study

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the annual cost of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its predictive factors. METHODS: Data were obtained from a 12-month retrospective cohort of 201 RA patients, randomly selected from a rheumatology registry, through a structured interview and records of the Central Information System of the hospital. Results were divided into direct, indirect, and total costs in 2001 US dollars. A sensitivity analysis was performed. Multiple linear regression models for the different types of costs were carried out. RESULTS: The total cost was US dollars 2.2 million per year, with a cost attributable to RA of US dollars 2.07 million per year. The average cost per patient was US dollars 10419 per year (ranging from US dollars 7914 per patient per year in the best scenario to US dollars 12922 per patient per year in the worst case). Direct costs represent nearly 70% of total costs. We found an average increment in total costs of US dollars 11184 per year per unit of Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score (P < 0.0001) and an average annual increment of US dollars 621 per year of disease (P < 0.0001). After adjustment, the HAQ score, inability to perform housework tasks, and being permanently disabled for work were the only predictors of high costs. CONCLUSION: Our data show a remarkable economic impact of RA over society and link the costs of the disease to its consequences in terms of functional disability, work disability, and housework disability.     

Comparison of employability outcomes among patients with early or long‐standing rheumatoid arthritis

Objective

To compare employability between patients with early and long‐standing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and examine the relationships between improvement in employability and disease stage after adjustment for demographic characteristics, disease activity, physical functioning, and response to therapy.

Methods

We evaluated the employability data from 2 double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled studies of infliximab plus methotrexate (MTX) in patients with RA. Patients were incomplete responders to MTX in 1 study and had never taken MTX in the other study. Patients age <65 years were categorized as having early RA (≤3 years disease duration) or long‐standing RA (>3 years disease duration). Physical functioning was assessed using the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and clinical response was determined based on the American College of Rheumatology 20% improvement criteria (ACR20).

Results

Patients with early RA were more likely to be employable at baseline than those with long‐standing RA, even after adjusting for baseline HAQ scores. Among patients who were not employable at baseline but achieved an ACR20 response after 1 year of treatment, after adjusting for baseline HAQ score, the patients with early RA who had never taken MTX were 3 times more likely to become employable compared with those with long‐standing RA who had an incomplete response to MTX at baseline.

Conclusion

In 2 clinical trials, patients with early RA were more likely to show improved employment outcomes after treatment than those with long‐standing RA, suggesting intervention as early as possible in the disease course maximizes an individual patient's employment potential.     

Rituximab as first choice for patients with refractory rheumatoid arthritis: cost-effectiveness analysis in Iran based on a systematic review and meta-analysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of using rituximab as first line for patients with refractory rheumatoid arthritis in comparison with continuing conventional DMARDs, from a perspective of health service governors. A systematic review was implemented through searching PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane Library. Quality assessment was performed by Jadad scale. After meta-analysis of ACR index results, QALY gain was calculated through mapping ACR index to HAQ and utility index. To measure the direct and indirect medical costs, a set of interviews with patients were applied. Thirty-two patients were selected from three referral rheumatology clinics in Tehran with definite diagnosis of refractory rheumatoid arthritis in the year before and treatment regimen of either rituximab or DMARDs within last year. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was calculated for base case and scenario of generic rituximab. Threefold of GDP per capita was considered as threshold of cost-effectiveness. Four studies were eligible to be considered in this systematic review. Total risk differences of 0.3 for achieving ACR20 criteria, 0.21 for ACR50 and 0.1 for ACR70 were calculated. Also mean of total medical costs of patients for 24 weeks were $3985 in rituximab group and $932 for DMARDs group. Thus, the incremental cost per QALY ratio will be $45,900–$70,223 in base case and $32,386–$49,550 for generic scenario. Rituximab for treatment of patients with refractory rheumatoid arthritis is not considered as cost-effective in Iran in none of the scenarios.     

Similar prediction of mortality by the health assessment questionnaire in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and the general population

BACKGROUND: The self report health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) quantifies disability in activities of daily living (ADL). In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the HAQ predicts mortality, work disability, and hip replacement surgery. It has been widely used in rheumatology, but population based data are rare. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the HAQ predicts mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 1095) and community controls (n = 1490). METHODS: A mailed questionnaire including the HAQ, visual analogue scales for pain and global health, comorbidities, education level, height, weight, and smoking status was administered in June 2000. Two years later, the vital status of the subjects was ascertained from the Finnish Population Register database. RESULTS: There were 41 deaths (10.1%) among the 404 patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had a baseline HAQ > or =1 (indicating at least some difficulty in most ADL), and 16 (2.3%) among 691 patients with HAQ <1 (p<0.001); in the community controls the values were 20 (13.6%) among 147 with HAQ > or =1, and 14 (1.0%) among 1343 with HAQ <1 (p<0.001). A higher HAQ score was an independent predictor of mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (hazard ratio 2.73 (95% confidence interval, 1.86 to 4.02); p<0.001) and in community controls (2.75 (1.61 to 4.70); p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The HAQ predicts mortality in the community population as well as in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. People with similar levels of disability appear to have a similar likelihood of mortality over two years.     

Shoulder joint involvement in patients with newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis. Prevalence and associations

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of reduced function, compared to normative values, and tenderness in the shoulder in patients with newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to investigate associated factors. METHODS: Eighty consecutive patients with RA, participating in a prospective study of early rheumatoid arthritis, were examined and assessed within one year of the onset of symptoms. RESULTS: The prevalence of tenderness from any of the shoulder joints was 50%, while 30% had decreased shoulder function, compared with age matched controls, in at least one shoulder. Both tender shoulder joints and decreased shoulder function were related to higher age and more severe disease, reflected by disability (HAQ) and the patient's assessment of pain and global disease activity. CONCLUSION: The shoulder girdle is involved early and often in rheumatoid arthritis and involvement is associated with a substantially more severe disease status. The study suggests that the shoulder should be given attention in patients with newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis, and that both tenderness and shoulder function should be evaluated.     

Modelling the effect of function and disease activity on costs and quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE: When treatments with the potential to change the natural history of a disease are introduced, their longer-term effect on costs and quality of life (utility) has to be estimated using economic models. However, to remain useful tools, models must be updated when new information becomes available. Our earlier models in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been based on functional status, but it has recently been shown that disease activity might have an independent effect on utility. The objective of this study was to improve the model by incorporating the effect of a subjective measure of disease severity and activity (global VAS). METHODS: A Markov model was constructed with five states according to functional status (HAQ), and each state was subdivided according to the VAS (<40 and >40). Disease development (transition probabilities between the states) was taken from a longitudinal cohort study of patients with early RA in Sweden. A recent population-based survey of 616 patients with RA provided data on costs and utilities. The model incorporates the full distribution of costs and utilities from the survey, and long-term projections are made using Monte Carlo simulation. RESULTS: The global VAS had a highly significant effect on utilities independently of HAQ. For resource consumption, only HAQ was a significant predictor, with the exception of sick leave, which was correlated with the VAS but not with HAQ. Using the cohort distribution from the longitudinal study, expected mean costs per patient over 10 yr were 106 034 euros (s.d. 5091 euros) (1 euro = SEK 9.20) and the expected number of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) was 5.08 (s.d. 0.09). Patients starting at HAQ <0.6 but with consistently high VAS scores would have expected costs of 102 830 euros and 4.96 QALYs, while patients with low VAS scores would have costs of 81 603 euros and 6.01 QALYs. CONCLUSION: Our new model incorporates for the first time the effect of a subjective measure of disease severity and activity on both costs and utility, making it a sensitive tool to estimate the cost-effectiveness of disease-modifying treatments. New data on resource consumption indicate a shift to higher direct costs, particularly in early disease, and lower indirect costs in more advanced disease. The large size of the data sets used in this model reduces the uncertainty and makes estimates very stable.     

Socioeconomic deprivation and rheumatoid disease: what lessons for the health service? ERAS Study Group. Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Study

OBJECTIVE—To assess how socioeconomic deprivation influences the presentation, treatment, and outcome of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
METHODS—Three year follow up of 869 consecutive patients with RA from nine hospital rheumatology clinics, with patients categorised by the Carstairs deprivation score of their enumeration district of residence. Outcomes included Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), joint and pain scores, grip strength, functional grade, radiological evidence of bony erosions, and medical/surgical interventions.
RESULTS—Patients from more deprived enumeration districts presented with more severe disease as judged by the HAQ score and joint scores. An increase from the 5th to the 95th centile of the Carstairs distribution was associated with an odds ratio of 1.87 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.31 to 2.66) for an above-median HAQ score and 1.77 (95% CI 1.23 to 2.54) for an above-median joint score. Statistically non-significant deprivation trends were seen with erythrocyte sedimentation rate, pain score, and grip strength. By three years, despite no important differences in clinical management, socioeconomic differentials had worsened or remained unchanged such that clear deprivation trends were then seen in HAQ (p=0.002) and joint scores (p=0.001), in grip strength (p=0.008), and in functional grade (p=0.003). The association between deprivation and HAQ at three years was present after adjustment for age, sex, treatment centre, and HAQ at presentation (adjusted odds ratio 1.74, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.74).
CONCLUSIONS—Socioeconomic deprivation was associated with a worse clinical course of rheumatoid disease, and this effect was already apparent at presentation, but not with systematic differentials in its treatment. This suggests that individual susceptibility and lifestyle factors contribute to socioeconomic differentials in outcome, an observation that has implications for clinical management.

     

Articular damage in late rheumatoid arthritis

This study aims to examine the long-term articular damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients according to rheumatoid arthritis articular damage (RAAD) score and to evaluate the parameters correlated with this score. The RAAD score was assessed in 85 RA patients who had the disease for more than 10 years. Patients were divided into three groups according to duration of the disease: group 1, 10–14 years; group 2, 15–19 years; and group 3, more than 20 years. Patients were also divided into three groups according to the time of initiation of treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: group A, within the first 2 years, group B, between 2 and 5 years; and group C, after 5 years. We investigated the RAAD score relationship between groups 1, 2, 3; groups A, B, C; sex; drug compliance; age of onset of the disease; and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). We observed significant differences in RAAD scores according to groups 1, 2, 3 (p<0.01), but not to groups A, B, C; sex; or drug compliance (p>0.05). While the RAAD score correlated well with the HAQ (r=0.560, p<0.001), it did not correlate with the age at onset of the disease (p>0.05). As RA is not a benign disease and articular damage progresses over time, the goal of RA therapy must be to maintain a response before the onset of irreversible damage and loss of function.     

Direct and indirect costs associated with the onset of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis. Western Consortium of Practicing Rheumatologists

OBJECTIVE: To examine the direct and indirect costs of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during the first year of disease. METHODS: As part of a longitudinal observational study, 150 patients with seropositive RA of 5.9 +/- 2.9 mo duration were recruited through the Western Consortium of Practicing Rheumatologists. Subjects completed questionnaires about health care services and resources utilized and about the number of days of usual activity lost as a result of RA during the 6 month period prior to enrolment. RESULTS: Study participants had active RA as evidenced by mean tender and swollen joint counts of 24.9 +/- 13.5 and 20.6 +/- 11.6, respectively, and moderate functional impairment reflected by a mean Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score of 1.24 +/- 0.7. The average total direct cost of RA was $200/month. Health care visits, medications, and radiographs accounted for 78% of the total direct cost, while expenditures for hospitalizations accounted for only 3.5% of the total. The average number of days of usual activity lost per month because of RA was 3.8 +/- 7.7, translating into an average indirect cost of $281/month. Of the 95 subjects who were gainfully employed prior to disease onset, 12 were disabled and 5 were on sick leave as a result of RA, corresponding to a work disability rate of 18%. Work disabled subjects reported significantly lower total household incomes and higher HAQ disability and global disease activity scores than subjects who continued working. CONCLUSION: In this group of patients with seropositive RA substantial costs, both direct and indirect, were incurred during the first year of disease.     

Influence of the severity of rheumatoid arthritis on sex differences in health assessment questionnaire scores.

In a study of 284 consecutive patients with rheumatoid arthritis attending hospital clinics a previous observation that female patients score higher on the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) than men was confirmed. A clinical disease severity score and the spread/severity index also showed that women had more severe disease. Although scores in some categories of the HAQ were higher in women, they were not disproportionately so, providing no evidence that domestic categories of the HAQ are biased against women. A multiple regression analysis showed that the spread/severity index score was the best predictor of HAQ scores, with sex making no significant contribution. The severity of the disease adequately explained the higher HAQ scores in female patients with rheumatoid arthritis.