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Factors associated with quality of life and functional disability among rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with disease‐modifying anti‐rheumatic drugs for at least 6 months
Author(s) -
Bae SangCheol,
Cho SooKyung,
Won Soyoung,
Lee HyeSoon,
Lee SangHeon,
Kang Young Mo,
Lee SangHoon,
Lee YeonAh,
Choe JungYoon,
Chung WonTae,
Suh ChangHee,
Shim SeungCheol,
Lee Jisoo,
Yoon Bo Young,
Kim DongWook,
Lee ShinSeok,
Yoo WanHee,
Kim JinSeok,
Jung YoungOk,
Nah SeongSu,
Lee ChoongKi,
Song GwanGyu,
Choi Sung Jae,
Joung ChungIl,
Koh Hyein,
Kim YoungJoo
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
international journal of rheumatic diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1756-185X
pISSN - 1756-1841
DOI - 10.1111/1756-185x.12915
Subject(s) - medicine , rheumatoid arthritis , erythrocyte sedimentation rate , quality of life (healthcare) , multivariate analysis , univariate analysis , observational study , physical therapy , nursing
Aim To determine characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis ( RA ) patients in Korea using disease‐modifying anti‐rheumatic drugs ( DMARD s) for at least 6 months, and to identify factors associated with poor health‐related outcomes. Method A total of 2000 RA patients aged > 20 years, treated with DMARD s for at least 6 months, and signed informed consent, were enrolled in this non‐interventional, multicenter, cross‐sectional observational study from December 2012 to June 2013. Health‐related quality of life ( HRQ oL) was measured using EuroQuol 5D ( EQ ‐5D) and functional disability was measured using the Korean Health Assessment Questionnaire ( KHAQ ). Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were used to determine the association between patient characteristics and patient‐reported outcomes ( PRO s). Results Of all RA patients, 84% were female, patients with low Disease Activity Score of 28 joints erythrocyte sedimentation rate ( DAS ‐28‐ ESR < 3.2) was 54%, while moderate ( DAS ‐28‐ ESR 3.2–5.1) and high disease activity score ( DAS ‐28‐ ESR > 5.1) were 38% and 7.6%, respectively. Mean EQ ‐5D index score and KHAQ score were 0.6 ± 0.28 and 0.7 ± 0.67, respectively. In multivariate analysis with both PRO s, average HRQ oL and functional disability score appeared to be worse in persons with older age compared to younger age ( P < 0.001), and worse in females compared to males ( P < 0.001). Compared to patients having lower DAS (< 3.2), those with moderate and highest DAS (3.2–5.1 and > 5.1) had worse outcome measures ( P < 0.001). Conclusion In this study, higher DAS was one of the most influential factors for poor PRO s among all other factors. Therefore, we could suggest appropriate treatment approaches according to DAS along with other significantly associated factors with PRO s in the early stage of RA .