Relationships between measurements of impairment, disability, pain, and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients with shoulder problems

Relationships between the results from shoulder movement impairment assessments, a shoulder-arm disability questionnaire, the disability indices Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) and Functional Status Questionnaire (FSQ), shoulder pain, and disease activity (ESR and the number of swollen joints) were analysed in a study evaluating outcome measurements in rheumatoid arthritis patients with shoulder problems. Sixty-seven women aged 24-82 years (mean 59.3) average disease duration 13 years were involved. The associations between shoulder movement impairment and HAQ, SIP physical and overall, FSQ and shoulder-arm disability questionnaire factor 1 were statistically significant, but of moderate magnitude (0.45 less than or equal to r less than or equal to 0.55, p<0.001). Shoulder pain correlated significantly but moderately to shoulder impairment and to FSQ (0.44 less than or equal to r less than or equal to 0.49, p<0.001). Disease activity did not correlate to shoulder impairment, disability or shoulder pain. Despite some overlapping, impairment, disability, pain, and disease activity represent different areas and must be measured separately.