Skip Navigation


Rheumatology Advance Access originally published online on May 16, 2003
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
42/7/841    most recent
keg229v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (5)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Uutela, T.
Right arrow Articles by Kautiainen, H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Uutela, T.
Right arrow Articles by Kautiainen, H.
Related Collections
Right arrow Diagnostics and Imaging Procedures
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Rheumatology 2003; 42: 841-845
© 2003 British Society for Rheumatology

Validity of the Nottingham Health Profile in a Finnish out-patient population with rheumatoid arthritis

T. Uutela, M. Hakala1,2, and H. Kautiainen2

Department of Internal Medicine, Central Hospital of Lapland, Rovaniemi,
1 University of Oulu, Oulu and
2 Rheumatism Foundation Hospital, Heinola, Finland

Objective. To assess the quality of life of 122 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients using the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), which is a generic quality-of-life instrument, and to compare the results with those of 99 healthy local control subjects.

Methods. Our patient group represented consecutive out-patients from a central hospital. The NHP contains 38 items, each with a weighted score, that assess subjective distress on six dimensions: mobility, pain, energy, sleep, emotional reactions and social isolation.

Results. The median (age-adjusted) NHP scores for mobility, pain and energy showed statistically highly significant differences (P < 0.001) between the RA patients and the control group, indicating a poorer quality of life among the RA patients on all these dimensions. These NHP dimensions were also closely related to patients' experience of their overall health status. The NHP scores for sleep, emotional reaction and social isolation did not differ between the patients and the controls.

Conclusion. The NHP, an instrument for assessing health-related quality of life, differentiated RA patients from local healthy individuals on the dimensions of mobility, energy and pain.

KEY WORDS: Nottingham Health Profile, Quality of life, Out-patients, Rheumatoid arthritis, Finland.

Correspondence to: M. Hakala, Rheumatism Foundation Hospital, FIN-18120 Heinola, Finland. E-mail: markku.hakala{at}reuma.fi


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.