title: Reasons for medical help-seeking behaviour of patients with recent-onset arthralgia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patient delay in seeking medical help may cause suboptimal use of the therapeutic window in rheumatoid arthritis. We aimed to assess the motivations and the urgency with which patients with arthralgia seek medical help.
  
  
  METHODS
  612 patients with arthralgia-visiting two Dutch Early Arthritis Recognition Clinics-were studied. Patients filled out a questionnaire with questions on their symptoms and their reasons for seeking medical help. Comparisons were made for patients with short or prolonged patient delay, patients with and without arthritis, age and gender.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median symptom duration was 4 weeks. A prolonged delay in seeking help was associated with a gradual onset of symptoms (78%) and the perception that symptoms would not be serious or would go away (16% and 48%, respectively). Arthralgia patients who promptly sought medical help more often had an acute onset of symptoms and more frequently reported impairments at work or in daily functioning than patients who postponed seeking help (all p<0.005). Patients with and without arthritis generally had similar reasons for seeking help. The proportion of patients who had a prolonged patient delay was comparable between male and female subjects and between age categories. Particularly younger patients postponed seeking help because they thought their symptoms would disappear spontaneously.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This large-scale study observed several reasons and symptom characteristics influencing the help-seeking behaviour of persons with arthralgia. These data can be helpful to define strategies aiming at early identification of arthritis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands. j.a.b.van_nies@lumc.nl
authors.forename: Jessica A B
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: van Nies
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brouwer
authors.forename: Diederik P C
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: de Rooy
authors.forename: Floris A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: van Gaalen
authors.forename: Tom W J
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Huizinga
authors.forename: Marcel D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Posthumus
authors.forename: Annette H M
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: van der Helm-van Mil
mesh_terms: D018771:Arthralgia / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors