title: Health-related quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis: therapeutic education plus pharmacological treatment versus pharmacological treatment only.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether therapeutic education added to conventional drug therapy reduced disability and pain in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fourty-three patients with RA, 29F/14 M, were included in a randomized, controlled trial and assigned to a control group receiving conventional pharmacological treatment only (n=21), or an intervention group receiving therapeutic education added to conventional pharmacological treatment (n=22). The main outcome variable was self-reported disability on the Stanford health assessment questionnaire (HAQ).
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 18 months, patients in the intervention group had less disability (HAQ), pain intensity, number of tender and swollen joints, and patient's and physician's global assessments (p=0.003, 0.031, 0.003, 0.001, 0.014, and 0.004, respectively) compared with baseline, and improvements in disability and number of tender and swollen joints (p=0.024, 0.040, and 0.003, respectively), compared with controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients receiving pharmacological treatment and therapeutic education had a better evolution than those receiving only pharmacological treatment.
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology Department, Musculoskeletal Clínic Institute (ICAL), Hospital Clínic, Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain. mnunez@clinic.ub.es
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Núñez
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Núñez
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yoldi
authors.forename: Llorenç
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Quintó
authors.forename: Ma Victoria
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Gómez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents