Epidemiological evaluation quality of life in patients suffering from early rheumatoid arthritis: a pragmatic, randomized, controlled of a modular program

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:Epidemiology has taken on new roles in the management of health care services. In this study, we developed a non-pharmacological self-management modular program group intervention and evaluated its efficacy as an adjunct therapy in patients suffering from early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).METHODS:Patients were randomized to either participate in a non-equivalent intervention group along with the standard of care or only receive standard-of-care treatment at a community rheumatology center. The outcomes measured were a pain visual analog scale (VAS), patient general health (GH) on a VAS, and the Short Form 36 Health Survey version 2 scale measuring quality of life. These parameters were evaluated in the first week to obtain baseline values, and at 20, 32, 48, and 60 weeks to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention group.RESULTS:The patients were randomized, with 100 patients in the intervention group and 106 in the control group. The intervention and control groups were similar with regard to the percentage of women (86% vs. 89.6%), tobacco usage (25% vs. 19.8%), mean age (42.6±13.2 years vs. 46.6±10.9 years), and disease duration (15.3±6.7 months vs. 14.5±6.6 months). The mean outcomes were significantly different between the two groups, and post-hoc pairwise analysis demonstrated significant deterioration in the control group in contrast to improvement in the intervention group at the second, third, fourth, and fifth evaluations. Improvements were often seen as early as the 12-week and 24-week follow-up visits.CONCLUSIONS:Epidemiology contributes to the evaluation of how well specific therapies or other health interventions prevent or control health problems. The modular program group intervention implemented in this study appears to be a suitable and feasible method to facilitate much more comprehensive management of early RA in socioeconomically challenged communities.

The Effects of Patient Education on Psychological Status and Clinical Outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…These studies were published from 1991 to 2021. The 24 RCTs included were conducted in different countries, with two in the United States ( 44 , 45 ), three in France ( 40 , 43 , 47 ), four in China ( 51 – 54 ), four in United Kingdom ( 32 , 34 , 36 , 37 ), four in Iran ( 46 , 48 – 50 ), one each in the Canada ( 31 ), Austria ( 33 ), Netherlands ( 35 ) Spain ( 38 ), Italy ( 39 ), Brazil ( 41 ), and Australia ( 42 ). Of the 24 studies included, 2,276 patients with RA were analyzed.…”

“…Eighteen studies reported the duration of symptoms, with the mean duration ranged from 7.05 to 20.48 years. Sixteen studies were based on the diagnosis of KOA based on clinical and radiographic features by a physician ( 33 – 35 , 37 – 44 , 46 , 47 , 49 , 51 , 53 ), while the remaining eight studies were based on the diagnosis criteria of the American College of Rheumatology ( 31 , 32 , 36 , 45 , 48 , 50 , 52 , 54 ).…”

“…Table 2 shows the characteristics of interventions in these 24 RCTs, including the specific methods of education, duration of intervention, and outcomes. To compare interventions between the education group and the control group, eight studies used education vs. usual care ( 32 , 35 , 37 , 44 , 48 , 51 , 52 , 54 ), and five studies used education + usual care vs. usual care ( 36 , 40 , 42 , 46 , 53 ), five studies used education + conventional treatment vs. conventional treatment ( 34 , 38 , 39 , 49 , 50 ), and six studies used education vs. waiting list (no intervention) ( 31 , 33 , 41 , 43 , 45 , 47 ). The outcomes of these 24 RCTs include pain, physical function, disease activity, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), anxiety, depression, ASE (pain), ASE (other symptoms), ASE(total), and general health.…”

“…The outcomes of these 24 RCTs include pain, physical function, disease activity, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), anxiety, depression, ASE (pain), ASE (other symptoms), ASE(total), and general health. Twelve studies that assessed pain used VAS (10 cm) scores ( 32 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 41 , 50 ),VAS (100 mm) scores ( 36 , 39 , 42 , 46 ), and AIMS2 scores ( 35 , 45 ), respectively. Fifteen studies assessed physical function using HAQ ( 31 , 33 , 36 – 44 , 51 , 54 ), SF-36 ( 46 ) and AIMS2 ( 35 ), respectively.…”

“…Twelve studies that assessed pain used VAS (10 cm) scores ( 32 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 41 , 50 ),VAS (100 mm) scores ( 36 , 39 , 42 , 46 ), and AIMS2 scores ( 35 , 45 ), respectively. Fifteen studies assessed physical function using HAQ ( 31 , 33 , 36 – 44 , 51 , 54 ), SF-36 ( 46 ) and AIMS2 ( 35 ), respectively. Eight studies assessed disease activity using DAS-28 ( 35 , 40 , 42 , 51 – 54 ) and RAI ( 39 ), respectively.…”