Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Int J Rheum Dis. 2012 Dec;15(6):546-53. doi: 10.1111/1756-185X.12009. Epub 2012 Oct 22.
Inflammatory arthritis is associated with a high degree of work instability and financial burden. In this study, we examine the extent of work instability and financial loss as well as their association with disease characteristics during the first 18 months of inflammatory arthritis.
One hundred and four patients in the early phase (more than 6 weeks, < 18 months) of inflammatory arthritis were recruited from a larger early inflammatory arthritis registry. Questionnaires recorded sociodemographic data and disease characteristics, including pain assessed using the Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and physical functioning measured with the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) physical functioning score. The Rheumatoid Arthritis Work Instability Scale (RA-WIS) was used to measure patient-perceived functioning in the workplace and the Financial Loss Questionnaire (FLQ) measured the impact on family finances.
Participants' mean age was 56 years, 70.2% were female and 49.0% were working. Average yearly household income was < 60 000 Canadian dollars (CAD) for 38.5% of the sample. Of our working patients, 43% had a medium or high risk of work loss as measured by the RA-WIS and 35% reported a financial loss. On multivariate analysis, MPQ and SF-36 contributed to the dependent variable work instability, while age and SF-36 contributed to financial loss.
This study identifies pain and physical dysfunction as potential modifiable risk factors for negative socioeconomic repercussions of illness in early inflammatory arthritis.
炎症性关节炎与较高的工作不稳定和经济负担相关。本研究旨在探讨炎症性关节炎发病的最初 18 个月内，工作不稳定和经济损失的程度及其与疾病特征的相关性。
从一个更大的早期炎症性关节炎登记处招募了 104 例处于炎症性关节炎早期（6 周以上，<18 个月）的患者。调查问卷记录了社会人口统计学数据和疾病特征，包括使用短格式 McGill 疼痛问卷（MPQ）评估的疼痛和使用医疗结局研究简表 36（SF-36）身体功能评分衡量的身体功能。使用类风湿关节炎工作不稳定量表（RA-WIS）衡量患者对工作场所功能的感知，使用经济损失问卷（FLQ）衡量对家庭经济的影响。
参与者的平均年龄为 56 岁，70.2%为女性，49.0%在工作。样本中 38.5%的家庭年收入低于 6 万加拿大元（CAD）。在我们的工作患者中，43%的患者根据 RA-WIS 有中高度工作损失风险，35%的患者报告有经济损失。多变量分析表明，MPQ 和 SF-36 是工作不稳定的因变量的潜在可改变的危险因素，而年龄和 SF-36 则与经济损失有关。
本研究确定了疼痛和身体功能障碍是炎症性关节炎早期疾病对社会经济负面影响的潜在可改变的危险因素。
