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TILL UHLIG, JON H. LOGE, IVAR S. KRISTIANSEN, and TORE K. KVIEN
ABSTRACT. Methods. Disease burden was assessed using a generic health status instrument (Medical Outcome Study Short Form-36) for measurements of HRQOL and SF-6D to calculate utility scores in representative patients aged 20 to 79 years from the Oslo RA Register (n = 1052), and in individuals in the general population (n = 2323). Comparisons were performed with respect to sex and age, and standardized difference scores (s-scores) were calculated for comparisons with the norm. Results. HRQOL in patients with RA was reduced compared to the general population on all scales of the SF-36 for both males and females and for all age groups. s-scores adjusted for age and education ranged from –1.39 for physical functioning to –0.27 for mental health. The overall difference in utility was 0.16 and ranged from 0.13 (in female patients below 50 yrs) to 0.20 (patients 50–60 years). This implies that RA of 1 year duration entails a disease burden of 14–20 quality-adjusted life-years in 100 RA patients. Conclusion. RA inflicts a substantial disease burden, and the disease affects all HRQOL dimensions as measured by the SF-36 in both sexes and in all age groups. Physical functioning is predominantly affected, but RA has social and mental consequences. (First Release May 15 2007; J Rheumatol 2007;34:1241-7) Key Indexing Terms:
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
From the Department of Rheumatology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital; the Department of Behavioural Sciences in Medicine, University of Oslo; and Institute of Health Management and Health Economics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. T. Uhlig, MD, PhD, Senior Researcher, Department of Rheumatology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital; J.H. Loge, MD, PhD, Senior Researcher, Department of Behavioural Sciences in Medicine, University of Oslo; I.S. Kristiansen, MD, PhD, Professor, Institute of Health Management and Health Economics, University of Oslo; T.K. Kvien, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Rheumatology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital. Address reprint requests to Dr. T. Uhlig, Department of Rheumatology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Postbox 23 Vinderen, N-0319 Oslo, Norway. E-mail: till.uhlig@nrrk.no Accepted for publication February 23, 2007. |
