Considering the key position of patients' global assessment in clinical practice and research, we wanted to examine the relationships between patients' global assessment and biological, functional, and mental variables, and to explore the relative contribution of these variables on patients' assessment of arthritis impact. Patients with RA of < or = 4 yrs duration were examined at baseline (n = 238) and after 12 and 24 months (n = 216). Study variables were tender joints, ESR, CRP, hand X-ray abnormalities and self-reported global arthritis impact, pain, disability, and symptoms of depression. 2-yr mean scores were computed for all variables. Strong correlations were found between patients' global assessment and pain (r = .73), depression (r = .68), disability (r = .64), and tender joints (r = .51), while ESR, CRP, and X-ray abnormalities correlated weakly with the global assessment. Using a multivariate approach, however, the relative effects of disability and tender joints were no longer statistically significant, whereas pain and depression still had significant impact on patients' global assessments.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.