Reported disability in relation to observed activity limitation, grip strength and physical function in women and men with rheumatoid arthritis
Abstract Background The self-reported Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) is specifically designed to assess disability in arthritic patients. In many studies women report higher functional disability than men. The reasons for this difference are suggested to be multifactorial. We therefore evalua...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2021-05-01
|
| Series: | BMC Rheumatology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41927-021-00184-5 |
| _version_ | 1818864224489701376 |
|---|---|
| author | Sidona-Valentina Bala Maria L. E. Andersson Kristina Forslind Björn Svensson Ingiäld Hafström |
| author_facet | Sidona-Valentina Bala Maria L. E. Andersson Kristina Forslind Björn Svensson Ingiäld Hafström |
| author_sort | Sidona-Valentina Bala |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The self-reported Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) is specifically designed to assess disability in arthritic patients. In many studies women report higher functional disability than men. The reasons for this difference are suggested to be multifactorial. We therefore evaluated functional disability assessed by HAQ in women and men with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in relation to observed disability, grip force and physical function. Methods Patients with RA, 51 women and 49 men, completed the HAQ on three occasions, some weeks apart. Between HAQ1 and HAQ2, all patients performed 17 of the 20 activities (7 domains) included in the HAQ under observation in a specially designed environment, the observed HAQ. During the same day, grip force, measured by GRIPPIT and physical function assessed by the SOFI (Signals of Functional Impairment) index were evaluated. Differences between groups were studied by the chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Sign Rank test. Correlations were analysed by Spearman rank correlation. Comparisons between repeated measures were performed using Friedman’s test. Results Median (IQR) total HAQ1 score was 0.50 (0.88) for women and 0.25 (0.84) for men, p = 0.038, and the observed HAQ score (7 domains) 0.57 (0.9) for women and 0.43 (0.96) for men, p = 0.292. The correlations between reported HAQ1 score (7 domains) and observed HAQ score were strong, r = 0.860, p < 0.001 in women, and r = 0.820, p < 0.001 in men. For some activities the patients, both women and men, reported lower difficulty than that observed. Women had lower grip force than men, median (IQR), right and left 126 (84) Newton, versus 238 (146), p < 0.001, and there was a negative correlation between grip force and most of the separate activities in HAQ in both genders. SOFI index was similar in women and men, median (IQR) 0 (3.0) versus 0 (2.0), p = 0.277, with a moderate correlation to HAQ. Conclusions The results indicate that in well-treated patients with RA the correlations between reported and observed HAQ scores were strong, similarly in women and men. We found no evidence that the patient’s opinion was dependent on unawareness of her/his own ability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T10:28:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-585c9f329abd4669ae2c26ce24e58faa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2520-1026 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T10:28:15Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Rheumatology |
| spelling | doaj.art-585c9f329abd4669ae2c26ce24e58faa2022-12-21T20:25:49ZengBMCBMC Rheumatology2520-10262021-05-015111010.1186/s41927-021-00184-5Reported disability in relation to observed activity limitation, grip strength and physical function in women and men with rheumatoid arthritisSidona-Valentina Bala0Maria L. E. Andersson1Kristina Forslind2Björn Svensson3Ingiäld Hafström4Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Lund UniversityDepartment of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Lund UniversityDepartment of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Lund UniversityDepartment of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Lund UniversityDepartment of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Rheumatology, Karolinska InstitutetAbstract Background The self-reported Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) is specifically designed to assess disability in arthritic patients. In many studies women report higher functional disability than men. The reasons for this difference are suggested to be multifactorial. We therefore evaluated functional disability assessed by HAQ in women and men with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in relation to observed disability, grip force and physical function. Methods Patients with RA, 51 women and 49 men, completed the HAQ on three occasions, some weeks apart. Between HAQ1 and HAQ2, all patients performed 17 of the 20 activities (7 domains) included in the HAQ under observation in a specially designed environment, the observed HAQ. During the same day, grip force, measured by GRIPPIT and physical function assessed by the SOFI (Signals of Functional Impairment) index were evaluated. Differences between groups were studied by the chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Sign Rank test. Correlations were analysed by Spearman rank correlation. Comparisons between repeated measures were performed using Friedman’s test. Results Median (IQR) total HAQ1 score was 0.50 (0.88) for women and 0.25 (0.84) for men, p = 0.038, and the observed HAQ score (7 domains) 0.57 (0.9) for women and 0.43 (0.96) for men, p = 0.292. The correlations between reported HAQ1 score (7 domains) and observed HAQ score were strong, r = 0.860, p < 0.001 in women, and r = 0.820, p < 0.001 in men. For some activities the patients, both women and men, reported lower difficulty than that observed. Women had lower grip force than men, median (IQR), right and left 126 (84) Newton, versus 238 (146), p < 0.001, and there was a negative correlation between grip force and most of the separate activities in HAQ in both genders. SOFI index was similar in women and men, median (IQR) 0 (3.0) versus 0 (2.0), p = 0.277, with a moderate correlation to HAQ. Conclusions The results indicate that in well-treated patients with RA the correlations between reported and observed HAQ scores were strong, similarly in women and men. We found no evidence that the patient’s opinion was dependent on unawareness of her/his own ability.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41927-021-00184-5Rheumatoid arthritisDisabilityHAQMobilityHand strengthWomen |
| spellingShingle | Sidona-Valentina Bala Maria L. E. Andersson Kristina Forslind Björn Svensson Ingiäld Hafström Reported disability in relation to observed activity limitation, grip strength and physical function in women and men with rheumatoid arthritis BMC Rheumatology Rheumatoid arthritis Disability HAQ Mobility Hand strength Women |
| title | Reported disability in relation to observed activity limitation, grip strength and physical function in women and men with rheumatoid arthritis |
| title_full | Reported disability in relation to observed activity limitation, grip strength and physical function in women and men with rheumatoid arthritis |
| title_fullStr | Reported disability in relation to observed activity limitation, grip strength and physical function in women and men with rheumatoid arthritis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reported disability in relation to observed activity limitation, grip strength and physical function in women and men with rheumatoid arthritis |
| title_short | Reported disability in relation to observed activity limitation, grip strength and physical function in women and men with rheumatoid arthritis |
| title_sort | reported disability in relation to observed activity limitation grip strength and physical function in women and men with rheumatoid arthritis |
| topic | Rheumatoid arthritis Disability HAQ Mobility Hand strength Women |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41927-021-00184-5 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sidonavalentinabala reporteddisabilityinrelationtoobservedactivitylimitationgripstrengthandphysicalfunctioninwomenandmenwithrheumatoidarthritis AT marialeandersson reporteddisabilityinrelationtoobservedactivitylimitationgripstrengthandphysicalfunctioninwomenandmenwithrheumatoidarthritis AT kristinaforslind reporteddisabilityinrelationtoobservedactivitylimitationgripstrengthandphysicalfunctioninwomenandmenwithrheumatoidarthritis AT bjornsvensson reporteddisabilityinrelationtoobservedactivitylimitationgripstrengthandphysicalfunctioninwomenandmenwithrheumatoidarthritis AT ingialdhafstrom reporteddisabilityinrelationtoobservedactivitylimitationgripstrengthandphysicalfunctioninwomenandmenwithrheumatoidarthritis |