Leiden University Scholarly Publications

Persistent URL of this record https://hdl.handle.net/1887/110567

In Collections

This item can be found in the following collections:

Saad-Magalhaes, C.; Pistorio, A.; Ravelli, A.; Filocamo, G.; Viola, S.; Brik, R.; ... ; PRINTO (2010)

Does removal of aids/devices and help make a difference in the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index?

Article / Letter to editor
Objective: To assess whether the removal of aids/devices and/or help from another person in the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (C-HAQ) leads to a significant change in the disability index (DI) score and responsiveness in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Methods: Changes in the C-HAQ DI score in a cross-sectional sample of 2663 children with JIA and in 530 active patients with JIA in a trial of methotrexate (MTX) were compared. Results: Patients in the MTX trial had higher disease activity and disability than the cross-sectional sample. The frequency of aids/devices (range 1.2-10.2%) was similar between the two samples, while help (range 5.3-38.1%) was more frequently used in the MTX group. Correlation between disease severity variables and the two different C-HAQ DI scoring methods did not change substantially. There was a decrease in the C-HAQ DI score for both the cross-sectional (mean score from 0.64 with the original method to 0.54 without aids/devices and help,...Show moreObjective: To assess whether the removal of aids/devices and/or help from another person in the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (C-HAQ) leads to a significant change in the disability index (DI) score and responsiveness in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Methods: Changes in the C-HAQ DI score in a cross-sectional sample of 2663 children with JIA and in 530 active patients with JIA in a trial of methotrexate (MTX) were compared. Results: Patients in the MTX trial had higher disease activity and disability than the cross-sectional sample. The frequency of aids/devices (range 1.2-10.2%) was similar between the two samples, while help (range 5.3-38.1%) was more frequently used in the MTX group. Correlation between disease severity variables and the two different C-HAQ DI scoring methods did not change substantially. There was a decrease in the C-HAQ DI score for both the cross-sectional (mean score from 0.64 with the original method to 0.54 without aids/devices and help, p<0.0001) and the MTX sample (mean score from 1.23 to 1.07, p<0.0001). A linear regression analysis of the original C-HAQ DI score versus the score without aids/devices and help demonstrated the substantial overlap of the different scoring methods. Responsiveness in the responders to MTX treatment did not change with the different C-HAQ DI scoring methods (range 0.86-0.82). Conclusion: The removal of aids/devices and help from the C-HAQ does not alter the interpretation of disability at a group level. The simplified C-HAQ is a more feasible and valid alternative for the evaluation of disability in patients with JIA.Show less
juvenile idiopathic arthritis quality-of-life systemic-lupus-erythematosus activity core set rheumatoid-arthritis double-blind prospective validation physical function clinical-trial children
All authors
Saad-Magalhaes, C.; Pistorio, A.; Ravelli, A.; Filocamo, G.; Viola, S.; Brik, R.; Mihaylova, D.; Cate, R. ten; Andersson-Gare, B.; Ferriani, V.; Minden, K.; Hashkes, P.; Rygg, M.; Sauvain, M.J.; Venning, H.; Martini, A.; Ruperto, N.; PRINTO
Date
2010-01-31
Journal
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
Volume
69
Issue
1
Pages
82 - 87