title: Functional capacity in rheumatoid arthritis patients: comparison between Spanish and Brazilian sample.
abstract: The main objective of this study is to compare Spanish and Brazilian self-reported health-related functional capacity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). 197 patients diagnosed with RA were studied in Spain (n = 127) and Brazil (n = 70). Pain (Visual analog scale) and functional capacity (Health Assessment Questionnaire/HAQ) were assessed. Patients were questioned about regular exercise practice. Comparisons between groups were performed with Chi-square tests and Student t test. Pearson's correlation coefficient and linear regression models were used to analyze the associations. Brazilian patients were younger (p = 0.013), had worse levels of pain (p = 0.001) and a trend to experience worse functional capacity (p = 0.057) than Spanish ones. Spanish RA patients had higher body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.019) and longer disease duration (p = 0.001). Also, a higher percentage of subjects with RA from the Spanish cohort had been elected to take early retirement when compared with Brazilian patients (p = 0.010). Spanish RA patients had received more drugs than Brazilians (oral corticosteroids p = 0.010, Leflunomide p = 0.023, Methotrexate p = 0.072, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs p = 0.064, biologic therapies p = 0.001). The functional capacity (HAQ) was correlated with age (p = 0.001), disease duration (p = 0.001), age at diagnosis (p = 0.001), pain (p = 0.001) and BMI (p = 0.001) in Spanish patients. In Brazilian, these correlations were only found with disease duration (p = 0.004) and pain (p = 0.001). In conclusion, our data suggest a better management of RA in Spanish when compared with Brazilians. Even with less pain and functional capacity, they receive more drug treatment and a higher percentage of them are retired early.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, Cascavel, PR, Brazil. maizaide@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Maiza Ritomy
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Ide
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Gay
authors.forename: Kelly Cristina
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: Marcelo Jun
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.forename: Mario Chueire
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: de Andrade
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Llorca
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001938:Brazil; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012179:Retirement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013030:Spain; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents