Early Rheumatoid Arthritis – some Social, Economical, and Psychological Aspects

Abstract

Physical, psychological, and social features were assessed with standardized methods in 84 early RA patients followed prospectively for 2 years. During this time disease activity decreased, and disability evaluated by HAQ remained small. Psychological distress measured by SCL-90 (Symptom Check List) was in general not very pronounced and fairly stable over time. A high pain level at baseline provided a 4 times higher risk for a high level of psychological distress after 2 years. The prevalence of early retirement was 37% at the end of the study. Physical demanding work and a high initial HAQ score were the best predictors of work disability, increasing the risk of not working 10.7 and 5.5 times, respectively. At least 28% of patients had lower annual income compared to the year before disease onset. The ability to do shopping, home work, leisure time activities and social activities were negatively influenced by the disease in more than half of the patients. The social and economical consequences were thus considerable in the early stages of RA.

Nutrient intake patterns, body mass index, and vitamin levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

“…Poor eating habits may result from the inability to perform tasks of daily living (such as grocery shopping and food preparation), sicca syndrome, and temporomandibular joint involvement (8, 49,50). Convenience foods and fast foods often have a higher percentage of calories from fat and higher sodium content and, therefore, negatively affect the composite dietary pattern.…”

Differences by sex in correlates of work status in rheumatoid arthritis patients

“…An important observation over the last two decades is that work status is not explained by disease severity alone, but by patient characteristics, work duties, and psychological status (3)(4)(5)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20). Although work disability occurs with roughly equal frequency in men and women in many study populations (3,7,8,12,19,21), the relative importance of factors that explain the onset of work disability is likely to differ between men and women because of the social context that defines role expectations and work performance.…”

Arthritis symptoms, the work environment, and the future: measuring perceived job strain among employed persons with arthritis

“…These include physically demanding work, the pace of work, lack of control over work scheduling, and relationships with others (10 -19). Illnessrelated variables have also been examined for their contribution to work disability, including pain, disease duration, functional limitations, joint counts, and erythrocyte sedimentation rates (11,12,14,15,(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23). Largely absent from arthritis research, however, are individuals' perceptions of job strain (24,25).…”