Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25188388›Full record

Observational studyPloS one2014

Assessment of activity limitations with the health assessment questionnaire predicts the need for support measures in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a multicenter observational study.

Xavier Janssens, Saskia Decuman, Filip De Keyser, Belgian Rheumatoid Arthritis Disability Assessment Study Group

Abstract readMulticenter StudyObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Xavier JanssensDepartment of Rheumatology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
Saskia DecumanDepartment of Rheumatology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Filip De KeyserDepartment of Rheumatology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
Belgian Rheumatoid Arthritis Disability Assessment Study Group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThis study investigated whether the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) can be used as an instrument to assess the need for social support measures that address activity limitations and participation issues in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

methodsThis multicenter observational study included patients with RA and disease duration of at least one year, consulting their rheumatologist for routine evaluation of disease activity. In the single study visit data on demographics, disease history and current treatment were collected. DAS28 values were collected to evaluate current RA disease activity. Patients were asked to fill out the HAQ and SF-36 questionnaires. Receiver Operator Characteristics (ROC) curves were constructed to evaluate the performance of the HAQ, SF-36 and DAS28 in predicting the need for nine supporting measures available for chronically ill patients in the Belgian social security system. The expert opinion of the treating rheumatologist was used as a reference.

resultsThe study included 316 patients with a mean age of 59.8 ± 12.6 years, disease duration of 11.4 ± 9.3 years, mean DAS28 values of 2.83 ± 1.17. Mean HAQ score was 0.95 ± 0.73, mean SF-36 score 56.5 ± 21.3. HAQ scores >1 were observed in 39.4% of patients. The area under the HAQ ROC curve was consistently >0.7 and higher for the HAQ than for SF-36 or DAS28 for all support measures. Rheumatologists on average recommended 3.67 support measures.

conclusionThe HAQ score was found to be a good predictor of the need for social support measures in patients with RA.

Indexed as

Activities of Daily LivingAgedArthritis, RheumatoidDisability EvaluationFemaleHealth Services Needs and DemandHealth StatusHumansMaleMiddle AgedResearch DesignSeverity of Illness IndexSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID25188388
PMCPMC4154727

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.