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. 2017 Nov 3;18(1):429.
doi: 10.1186/s12891-017-1787-7.

Associated factors with functional disability and health-related quality of life in Chinese patients with gout: a case-control study

Ting Fu  1 , Haixia Cao  2 , Rulan Yin  3 , Lijuan Zhang  3 , Qiuxiang Zhang  3 , Liren Li  4 , Zhifeng Gu  5
Affiliations

Associated factors with functional disability and health-related quality of life in Chinese patients with gout: a case-control study

Ting Fu et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Gout is a painful, inflammatory disease that may cause decreased function and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Limited study did not take the influence of gout characteristics and anxiety on HRQoL into consideration and there are no studies associated with functional disability in individuals with gout from China. This study aims to investigate the related factors of functional disability and HRQoL in gout patients recruited from China.

Methods: A total of 226 consecutive gout patients and 232 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals were involved in the study. A series of questionnaires (the Short Form 36 health survey, the Patient Health Questionnaire, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire, the 10 cm Visual Analog Scale, and the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index) were applied. Blood samples were taken to examine the level of serum uric acid. Independent samples t-tests, Chi square tests, U test, Spearman rank correlation, logistic regression modeling, and linear regression were used to analyze the data.

Results: After adjusted demographic variables, individuals with gout have poorer HRQoL compared to healthy controls. Univariate tests presented that patients with functional disability had longer disease duration, more frequent flares/last year, more severe total pain, more number of tophi, higher degree of depression and anxiety, with a trend toward diabetes, the treatment of colchicine and corticosteroids use, compared to patients without functional disability. Meanwhile, place of residence, hypertension, DM, disease duration, cardiovascular disease, number of flares/last year, total pain, more number of tophi, presence of tender joints, depression, anxiety, currently using colchicine and corticosteroids were correlated significantly with HRQoL. Additionally, multiple regression analysis identified severe pain, depression, and colchicine use as predictors of functional disability. Cardiovascular disease, total pain, number of flares/last year, presence of tender joints, depression, anxiety, colchicine and corticosteroids use contributed to low HRQoL.

Conclusions: After adjusted demographic variables, gout subjects have poorer HRQoL compared to healthy controls. Chinese gout population experiencing poor HRQoL and functional disability were likely to suffer from gout-related features and psychological problems. The results underscore the need of effective interventions including psychological nursing and appropriate treatment approaches to reduce their functional disability and improve their HRQoL.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Functional disability; Gout; Health-related quality of life.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ information

Ting Fu, MM, Research Center of Clinical Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, P.R. China. Haixia Cao, MM, Department of Rheumatology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, P.R. China. Rulan Yin, MM, School of Nursing, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, P.R. China. Lijuan Zhang, MM, School of Nursing, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, P.R. China. Qiuxiang Zhang, MM, School of Nursing, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, P.R. China. Liren Li, MD, School of Nursing, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, P.R. China. Zhifeng Gu, PhD, MD, Research Center of Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, P.R. China; Department of Rheumatology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, P.R. China.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, and written informed consents were obtained from all individual participants in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration.

Consent for publication

Not applicable

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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