title: Health-related quality of life in midlife women in Qatar: relation to arthritis and symptoms of joint pain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been poorly documented in the Middle East and North African region, including the State of Qatar. Given that musculoskeletal pain is commonly reported among midlife women, we evaluated the association between self-report of either OA or RA and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among midlife women in Qatar. In addition, HRQoL among women in Qatar was compared with that of women in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN).
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted among 841 women 40 to 60 years recruited from primary care centers in Qatar. Face-to-face interviews were conducted and included measures of self-reported OA and RA, health-related symptom experience, and HRQoL using the SF-36 health survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most women were obese (75.5%) and reported being bothered by aches and stiffness in joints (71.6%). Prevalence of self-reported OA and RA was 4.8% and 4.3%, respectively. OA was significantly associated with reduced physical function (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.97; P=0.003). RA was also significantly related to reduced physical function (adjusted OR, 2.94; P = 0.01) and role physical (adjusted OR, 2.67; P = 0.01). When compared with women from the SWAN, women from the current study had significantly lower mean scores for bodily pain (53.0 vs. 68.9, P = 0.0001) and for vitality (49.9 vs. 54.8, P = 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-report of OA or RA was associated with significant disability in our sample. Because symptoms of aches and stiff joints were so frequently reported, arthritis may be under-diagnosed, especially given the high rates of obesity observed.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Healthcare Policy and Research, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 2Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Doha, Qatar 3Healthcare Research Institute, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Gerber
authors.forename: Ya-Lin
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Mohamud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verjee
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ghomrawi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000145:classification; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011780:Qatar / Q000453:epidemiology; D011788:Quality of Life; D057566:Self Report; D012720:Severity of Illness Index