Do patient-reported measures of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis vary between countries? Results from a Nordic collaboration.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To investigate whether patient-reported outcomes vary across countries and are influenced by cultural/contextual factors. Specifically, we aimed to assess inter-country differences in tender joint count (TJC), pain and patient's global health assessment (PGA), and their impact on disease activity (DAS28-CRP) in RA patients from five Nordic countries.

Methods

We collected data (baseline, 3- and 12-months) from rheumatology registers in the five countries comprising RA patients starting a first ever MTX or a first ever TNF inhibitor (TNFi). In order to assess the role of context (=country), we separately modelled TJC, pain and PGA as functions of objective variables (CRP, swollen joint count, age, sex, calendar period and disease duration) with linear models. Analys

SUBMITTER: Delcoigne B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9629415 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature