Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
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 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 (19)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Tijhuis, G. J.
Right arrow Articles by Vliet Vlieland, T. P. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Tijhuis, G. J.
Right arrow Articles by Vliet Vlieland, T. P. M.
Related Collections
Right arrow Diagnostics and Imaging Procedures
Right arrow Rheumatoid Arthritis
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Rheumatology 2001; 40: 1112-1119
© 2001 British Society for Rheumatology

Original Papers

The validity of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality of Life (RAQoL) questionnaire

G. J. Tijhuis, Z. de Jong, A. H. Zwinderman1, W. M. Zuijderduin, L. M. A. Jansen2, J. M. W. Hazes and T. P. M. Vliet Vlieland

Department of Rheumatology,
1 Department of Medical Statistics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden and
2 Department of Rheumatology, Jan van Breemen Instituut, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Objective. To examine further the usefulness of a 30-item disease-specific quality of life (QoL) questionnaire in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods. The Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality of Life (RAQoL) questionnaire was applied to two groups consisting of 210 and 300 patients with RA, one group with increasing difficulty in performing activities of daily living and one group with stable disease. The associations between the RAQoL and measures of utility, QoL, functional status and disease activity were evaluated. Factor analysis was carried out to investigate if one or more QoL dimensions could be distinguished within this questionnaire.

Results. Similar results regarding the association between the RAQoL and different sets of outcome measures were found in the two groups of patients. Regression analysis showed that about 75% of the variance of the RAQoL could be explained with variables of QoL, functional status and disease activity. Physical contact could be distinguished as a separate dimension within the RAQoL, in addition to the dimensions mobility/energy, self-care and mood/emotion.

Conclusion. The RAQoL is a valid instrument for measuring QoL in different populations of patients with RA. Physical contact, a dimension that is not covered by other common instruments in RA, could be distinguished as a separate dimension within the questionnaire.

KEY WORDS: Rheumatoid arthritis, Quality of life, Validation, Outcome measurement.

Correspondence to: G. J. Tijhuis, Department of Rheumatology C4-R, Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands.


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


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Rheumatology (Oxford)Home page
E. T. Koh, K. P. Leong, I. Y. Y. Tsou, V. H. Lim, L. Y. Pong, S. Y. Chong, A. Seow, and for the Tan Tock Seng Hospital Rheumatoid Arthriti
The reliability, validity and sensitivity to change of the Chinese version of SF-36 in oriental patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatology, August 1, 2006; 45(8): 1023 - 1028.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Rheumatology (Oxford)Home page
N. J. Bansback, R. Ara, N. Barkham, A. Brennan, A. D. Fraser, P. Conway, A. Reynolds, and P. Emery
Estimating the cost and health status consequences of treatment with TNF antagonists in patients with psoriatic arthritis
Rheumatology, August 1, 2006; 45(8): 1029 - 1038.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Rheumatology (Oxford)Home page
M. C. Greenwood, A. J. Hakim, and D. V. Doyle
A simple extension to the Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RAQol) to explore individual patient concerns and monitor group outcome in clinical practice
Rheumatology, January 1, 2006; 45(1): 61 - 65.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Rheumatology (Oxford)Home page
M. C. Greenwood, A. J. Hakim, E. Carson, and D. V. Doyle
Touch-screen computer systems in the rheumatology clinic offer a reliable and user-friendly means of collecting quality-of-life and outcome data from patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatology, January 1, 2006; 45(1): 66 - 71.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Ann Rheum DisHome page
W B van den Hout, G J Tijhuis, J M W Hazes, F C Breedveld, and T P M Vliet Vlieland
Cost effectiveness and cost utility analysis of multidisciplinary care in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomised comparison of clinical nurse specialist care, inpatient team care, and day patient team care
Ann Rheum Dis, April 1, 2003; 62(4): 308 - 315.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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.