|
One-third
of rheumatoid arthritis patients quit work within five years
of the disease's onset, according to researchers in the United
Kingdom.
The study
included patients with rheumatoid arthritis for less than
two years who had not taken disease modifying anti-rheumatic
drug therapy.
Of the
732 patients who completed the five-year follow-up, only 60
percent of those employed at the beginning of the study remained
employed.
Work disability
was more likely in manual workers and those who scored poorly
on basic health questionnaires at the beginning of the study.
"These
details are likely to be useful to clinicians, health professionals,
and patients in order to plan medical, orthopaedic, and remedial
treatments in early (rheumatoid arthritis)," the researchers
said. "Future disease modifying treatments could be compared
with this cohort of patients who were treated with conventional
second line drugs."
Source:
Arthritis Week
of April 28, 2002
|
HOME PAGE
