OBJECTIVES To assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with etanercept or adalimumab in routine clinical practice. METHODS Patients with RA who started etanercept or adalimumab at Helsinki University Central Hospital or Lappeenranta Central Hospital during 2003-2006 were asked to participate in the study. In 97 patients, HRQoL was measur...

Results Compared to other children with a chronic disease, the HRQOL estimates of the studied group is lower. The study showed a moderate correlation (r = -0.43 -0.70) between CHAQ and 6 of the subgroups in Disabkids generic and in 1 of 2 subgroups in arthritis Impact. CHAQ correlated to physical functions but also to mental and social functions. Only a mild correlation was seen between the doc...

At present general practitioners lack a tool for defining the level of disability of individual patients and groups of patients with arthritis. An assessment technique (health assessment questionnaire) developed in the United States is described, and its use in general practice evaluated. Sixty two patients agreed to be visited at home to compare their observed abilities when performing the tas...

Before and after a stage-hypnosis performance, 67 audience members and 6 participants completed the Hypnotic Attitudes Questionnaire (HAQ), the Posthypnotic Experience Scale (PES), and several questions related to attitudes about performing in public. Audience members' beliefs about hypnosis (HAQ total and factor scores),experience ratings (PES factor scores: pleasantness, anger/irritability,an...

Methods Adult clinic patients with diabetes were eligible to participate in a longitudinal comprehensive mindfulnessbased therapeutic lifestyle change program involving weekly educational classes dedicated to teaching wellness and lifestyle changes. Patient outcome assessments were administered at baseline, 3and 6months, and included traditional clinical parameters and self-completed patient re...

Method 87 pts. (f 69%, m 31%) average age 14,1 yrs. disease duration 5,2 yrs., were follow up for 3,7 (2-5) yrs. Parents/ patients over 12 yrs. completed CHAQ at the beginning and at the end of study and disability index (DI) was calculated. CHAQ DI=0 was considered as normal, 0,1250,5=mild, ≥0,6=moderate/severe disability. Fifty nine (67,8%)pts. were treated with methotrexate, 42 (52,8%)pts. w...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate levels of anti-carbamylated protein (anti-CarP) antibodies in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and to determine their association with serological parameters and disease activity. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 105 multiethnic RA patients (48 rheumatoid factor [RF]-positive and 57 RF-negative patients) was conducted at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kel...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of sociodemographic factors on the outcome of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS A group of 138 women with RA of recent onset and a mean duration of follow up of 5.8 years was studied. Additional information on sociodemographic variables at disease onset (level of formal education, marital status and employment status) was related to the initial disease sev...

Results Frequency of ceiling effect for each measure is shown in table 1. Physician global assessment revealed a tendency towards normal distribution, whereas all other measures were skewed towards the normal end of the scale. However, physician global assessment scores tended to cluster at the two ends of the scale (i.e. towards the 0 and 10 scores). In 69.2% of the visits CHAQ score was > 0.5...