Measures of physical function and emotional well being for young adults with arthritis

We investigated whether it is necessary to adapt measures of functional status as used with adults with rheumatoid arthritis when measuring physical function in young adults between 16 and 30 years of age with arthritis, and which aspects of emotional well being are important outcomes in young adults with arthritis. A questionnaire as filled in by 196 young adults with arthritis and 117 healthy peers of same age and sex. Functional status was measured with the 17 item Young Adults Disability Inventory (YADI), which includes the 8 item Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (M-HAQ). Four aspects of emotional well being were assessed: depression, anxiety, loneliness, and self-esteem. The mean score of the patients on the YADI was significantly higher than that on the M-HAQ. YADI scores correlated significantly higher with a measure of disease symptoms than the scores on the M-HAQ with disease symptoms. Anxiety was not strongly correlated with functional status, disease symptoms, or self-reported Thompson joint score. Depression, loneliness, and self-esteem were moderately correlated with functional status and disease symptoms and weakly correlated with the Thompson score. There were no significant difference in emotional well being between patients and their healthy peers. Patients with severe symptoms were significantly more depressed than their healthy peers. It seems that the YADI is more appropriate measure of functional status in young adults with arthritis than the M-HAQ. Depression seems to be an important emotional outcome for young adults with arthritis. Anxiety does not seem to be a severely affected area of emotional well being.