title: The clinical value of the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire Functional Disability Index in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: We administered the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire functional disability questionnaire to a cohort of 400 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) every 6 months during a mean followup of 3.1 years. Simple classification into 3 groups based on Functional Disability Index (FDI) scores (0-1, 1.1-2, 2.1-3) identified patients with increasingly more severe scores for clinical, psychological, and demographic variables; and FDI scores at entry predicted increased inpatient and outpatient utilization of services, and mortality. The FDI provided important and clinically useful current and predictive information regarding RA status, utilization of services, and mortality that was not available through conventional testing. Our data suggest that such information can be easily and inexpensively obtained.
authors.affiliation: Arthritis Center, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wolfe
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kleinheksel
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cathey
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Hawley
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Spitz
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Fries
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000191:economics / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D004185:Disability Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires