Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Clinically suspect arthralgia and rheumatoid arthritis: patients' perceptions of illness.

OBJECTIVES: Clinically suspect arthralgia (CSA) is an at-risk stage of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), in which patients experience symptoms and physical limitations. Perceptions of CSA-patients have remained largely unknown. Therefore, we aimed to map perceptions of CSA-patients and compare them to RA-patients. Additionally, we studied changes in perceptions in CSA over time.

METHODS: 399 consecutively included CSA-patients from the Leiden and Rotterdam CSA-cohorts and 100 recently diagnosed RA-patients from the Leiden Early Arthritis Clinic were included. Patients' illness perceptions (IP) were assessed using the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ), consisting of 8 questions (scale 0-10; higher score indicating more negative IP) covering cognitive, emotional and comprehensibility domains, and one open question on causes of disease. IP were measured at baseline in both populations and during 2 years follow-up in the CSA-cohorts.

RESULTS: Total BIPQ-scores were comparable at CSA-presentation and RA-diagnosis (40±11 and 40±10; range 0-80). Comparing dimensions separately revealed that CSA-patients were less worried on physical complaints compared to RA-patients. However, CSA-patients were more negative about expected treatment-effect on symptoms. IP over time in CSA improved in patients without development of clinical arthritis (38±11 to 34±14; p=0.005) but remained similar in CSA-patients who progressed to arthritis/RA (mean 40 at both timepoints). CSA-patients mainly reported physical strain and heredity as perceived causes of their complaints.

CONCLUSIONS: Although CSA-patients have not developed clinical arthritis, illness perceptions at CSA-presentation and RA-diagnosis are equally severe. Knowledge on worries and expectations may contribute to improving patient-contact and care in patients at risk of RA.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

Related Resources

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app