RA individuals from lower GDP countries keep working despite worse symptoms than richer...(of Patients with RA (QUEST-RA) database ...),Health

Date:6/12/2009

of Patients with RA (QUEST-RA) database of 7,568 patients (80% females, mean age 56 years, mean disease duration 11 years) who receive standard care from rheumatologists. Patients from 83 sites in the following 30 countries were studied: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States.

In the study, HAQ (0-3) was used to measure everyday disability and the DAS28 (0-10) to measure disease activity. Data concerning work status/disability were based entirely on results of a patient self-reporting questionnaire which included multiple choice questions about work status at the time of the first symptoms of RA compared to current work status. Patient self-perceived work disability was queried with questions such as: 'Are you work disabled because of RA?' 'If so, since when?' Kaplan-Meier statistics were applied to measure the survival function of the data over time.

* HAQ (Health Assessment Questionnaire) is a patient self-report questionnaire to measure an individual's physical functioning. It assesses ability to undertake everyday activities such as dressing, eating and walking, and whether assistance from another person or disability aids is required. A higher score indicates greater disability.

** DAS28 (Disease Activity Score) is an index used by physicians to measure how active an individual's RA is. It assesses number of tender and swollen joints (out of a total of 28), the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR, a blood marker of inflammation), and the patient's 'global assessment of global health'. A higher score indicates more active disease.

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Contact: Rory Berrie eularpressoffice@uk.cohnwolfe.com 44-789-438-6425 European League Against Rheumatism Source:Eurekalert

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