Health-related profiles of people with lower limb loss.
OBJECTIVE
To construct profiles of self-reported health indicators to examine differences and similarities between people with lower limb loss and a normative sample (hereafter called the norm) and to compare health indicators between subgroups based on level and etiology of limb loss.


METHODS
Survey.


METHODS
General community.


METHODS
Adults with unilateral lower limb loss (N=1091) participated in this study. Eligibility criteria included lower limb loss due to trauma or dysvascular complications and regular use of a prosthesis.


METHODS
Not applicable.


METHODS
The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System 29-item Health Profile version 1.0 measures physical function, pain interference, fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety, depression, and satisfaction with participation in social roles. The norm includes 5239 individuals representative of the U.S. general population in sex, age, race, ethnicity, and education.


RESULTS
People with lower limb loss reported statistically significantly worse physical function, pain interference, and satisfaction with participation in social roles and significantly less fatigue than did the norm. People with transfemoral (ie, above-knee) amputation significantly differed in physical function from people with transtibial (ie, below-knee) amputation. Similarly, people with amputation due to trauma and dysvascular etiology significantly differed in physical function and satisfaction with social roles after adjusting for relevant clinical characteristics.


CONCLUSIONS
People with lower limb loss generally report worse physical function, pain interference, and satisfaction with social roles than do the norm. People with dysvascular amputation reported worse physical function and satisfaction with social roles than did people with traumatic amputation. Health indicator profiles are an efficient way of providing clinically meaningful information about numerous aspects of self-reported health in people with lower limb loss.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Dagmar
D
Amtmann
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Sara J
SJ
Morgan
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Jiseon
J
Kim
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Electronic address: bhafner@u.washington.edu.
Brian J
BJ
Hafner
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000671:Amputation, Surgical / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D000674:Amputees / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D020127:Recovery of Function; D057566:Self Report; D058992:Social Participation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States
Amputation; Artificial limbs; Limb prosthesis; Outcome assessment (health care); Quality of life; Rehabilitation