1. Life events and disability in rheumatoid arthritis: a European cohort.
- Author
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Leymarie F, Jolly D, Sanderman R, Briançon S, Marchand AC, Guillemin F, Eschard JP, Suurmeijer T, Poitrinal P, Blanchard F, and van den Heuvel W
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Arthritis, Rheumatoid epidemiology, Arthritis, Rheumatoid therapy, Cohort Studies, Female, France epidemiology, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Netherlands epidemiology, Prospective Studies, Quality of Life, Severity of Illness Index, Social Support, Surveys and Questionnaires, Time Factors, Arthritis, Rheumatoid physiopathology, Disability Evaluation, Life Change Events
- Abstract
The objective was to study the relationship between life events (LE) and the clinical status of patients suffering from recently diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a 2 yr follow-up. As part of a multicentre European cohort study, 370 French and Dutch patients were questioned three times at 1 yr intervals about LE which had occurred in the previous year. Three criteria were used to quantify the degree of disease activity (Ritchie's index), the level of functional disability [Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ)] and perceived health [Overall Evaluation of Health (OEH)]. Total LE and desirable LE showed a weak negative correlation with the HAQ scores. On the other hand, death-related LE did not seem to modify patient status. The higher the number of health-associated LE, the greater the deterioration in HAQ and OEH scores. The results indicate that LE do not affect the course of early RA in a spectacular manner.
- Published
- 1997
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