title: Association Between Measures of Fatigue and Health-Related Quality of Life in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the relationship between fatigue and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) among people with osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Community-dwelling people with OA, and OA patients on the waiting list for joint replacement surgery, were recruited. RA patients were recruited from rheumatologists' public and private outpatient clinics. Respondents completed a questionnaire containing demographic detail, the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), the Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue (MAF), the SF-36, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, and the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 137 OA and 52 RA respondents. Neither age nor sex was significantly associated with fatigue for OA or RA. The mean FSS score was 3.36 for RA and 3.63 for OA. Fifty percent of respondents with RA and 58% of those with OA met the FSS >3 cut-point for fatigue. Mean MAF Global Fatigue Index was 20.8 for OA and 20.1 for RA. Correlations between health status and fatigue indicated that for both OA and RA those with greater fatigue reported worse health status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Few studies have measured the impact of fatigue among respondents with OA, despite it affecting a large proportion of the population. Fatigue was significantly correlated with poorer HR-QOL among OA respondents, suggesting that fatigue is a significant issue in OA as well as RA.
authors.affiliation: 1 Bone and Joint Research, Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 2 Centre for National Research on Disability, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 3 Health Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Marita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cross
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lapsley
authors.forename: Annica
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barcenilla
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.forename: Lyn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: March