JOINT IMPAIRMENT IS STRONGLY CORRELATED WITH DISABILITY MEASURED BY SELF-REPORT QUESTIONNAIRES - FUNCTIONAL STATUS ASSESSMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS IN A POPULATION-BASED SERIES

Objective. To determine how well self-report functional ability reflec ts the impairment due to the arthritic process in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and how much it is affected by other factors of health status. M ethods. We examined the relationships between self-report measures suc h as the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and Arthritis Impact Me asurement Scales (AIMS) and measures of impairment such as the Keitel function test (KFT), which is intended to reflect the degree of functi onal limitation of the joints, grip strength and radiological destruct ion as well as anxiety and depression in a population-based series of RA. Results. First, the HAQ and AIMS had a high correlation coefficien t (r = 0.89, p < 0.0001). Second, the above measures of impairment wer e more significant predictors of self-report functional measures than, for example, mental health perceptions. The AIMS scales also correlat ed well with the corresponding physical function of the KFT. Conclusio n. Patients' self-report functional ability in RA reflects their physi cal impairment due to the arthritic joint disease and is less influenc ed by other factors such as emotional adjustment.