title: Comparison and sensitivity to change of self-report scales to assess difficulty, dissatisfaction, and pain in performing activities of daily living over one and five years in rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: We analyzed the longitudinal sensitivity to change of three self-report activities of daily living (ADL) scales over 1 and 5 years in 982 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from 15 private practices. Over 1 year, the ADL difficulty status worsened in 28.3% of the patients, remained the same in 50.2%, and improved in 21.5%. Over 5 years, 41.3% worsened, 38.8% stayed the same, and 19.9% were improved. Similar percentages for 1- and 5-year changes were found for the ADL dissatisfaction and pain scales. The effect sizes for change over 1 and 5 years for the ADL difficulty, dissatisfaction, and pain scales were--(-)0.05, 0.01, and -0.02, and -0.28, -0.20, and -0.14, respectively, indicating small to moderate declines. These data indicate that the three ADL scales are sensitive to change in status, and ADL change status scores after 1 and 5 years were significantly correlated with each other (r = 0.49-0.68, all p < 0.001). Monitoring of these three constructs may be helpful in the longitudinal evaluation of some patients with RA.
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Callahan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*