title: Life events and disability in rheumatoid arthritis: a European cohort.
abstract: The objective was to study the relationship between life events (LE) and the clinical status of patients suffering from recently diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a 2 yr follow-up. As part of a multicentre European cohort study, 370 French and Dutch patients were questioned three times at 1 yr intervals about LE which had occurred in the previous year. Three criteria were used to quantify the degree of disease activity (Ritchie's index), the level of functional disability [Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ)] and perceived health [Overall Evaluation of Health (OEH)]. Total LE and desirable LE showed a weak negative correlation with the HAQ scores. On the other hand, death-related LE did not seem to modify patient status. The higher the number of health-associated LE, the greater the deterioration in HAQ and OEH scores. The results indicate that LE do not affect the course of early RA in a spectacular manner.
authors.affiliation: University of Reims.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Leymarie
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jolly
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sanderman
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Briançon
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Marchand
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guillemin
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Eschard
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suurmeijer
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Poitrinal
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: van den Heuvel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors