Disability, fatigue, pain and their associates in early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis: the European Scleroderma Observational Study

Peytrignet, Sébastien, Denton, Christopher P, Lunt, Mark, Hesselstrand, Roger, Mouthon, Luc, Silman, Alan, Pan, Xiaoyan, Brown, Edith, Czirják, László, Distler, Jörg H W, Distler, Oliver, Fligelstone, Kim, Gregory, William J, Ochiel, Rachel, Vonk, Madelon, Ancuţa, Codrina, Ong, Voon H, Farge, Dominique, Hudson, Marie, Matucci-Cerinic, Marco, Balbir-Gurman, Alexandra, Midtvedt, Øyvind, Jordan, Alison C, Stevens, Wendy, Moinzadeh, Pia, Hall, Frances C, Agard, Christian, Anderson, Marina E, Diot, Elisabeth, Madhok, Rajan, Akil, Mohammed, Buch, Maya H, Chung, Lorinda, Damjanov, Nemanja, Gunawardena, Harsha, Lanyon, Peter, Ahmad, Yasmeen, Chakravarty, Kuntal, Jacobsen, Søren, Macgregor, Alexander J ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2163-2325, McHugh, Neil, Müller-Ladner, Ulf, Riemekasten, Gabriela, Becker, Michael, Roddy, Janet, Carreira, Patricia E, Fauchais, Anne Laure, Hachulla, Eric, Hamilton, Jennifer, İnanç, Murat, McLaren, John S, van Laar, Jacob M, Pathare, Sanjay, Proudman, Susanna, Rudin, Anna, Sahhar, Joanne, Coppere, Brigitte, Serratrice, Christine, Sheeran, Tom, Veale, Douglas J, Grange, Claire, Trad, Georges-Selim and Herrick, Ariane L (2018) Disability, fatigue, pain and their associates in early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis: the European Scleroderma Observational Study. Rheumatology, 57 (2). pp. 370-381. ISSN 1462-0324

[thumbnail of Published manuscript]
Preview
PDF (Published manuscript) - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial.

Download (376kB) | Preview

Abstract

Objectives: Our aim was to describe the burden of early dcSSc in terms of disability, fatigue and pain in the European Scleroderma Observational Study cohort, and to explore associated clinical features. Methods: Patients completed questionnaires at study entry, 12 and 24 months, including the HAQ disability index (HAQ-DI), the Cochin Hand Function Scale (CHFS), the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-fatigue and the Short Form 36 (SF36). Associates examined included the modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS), current digital ulcers and internal organ involvement. Correlations between 12-month changes were also examined. Results: The 326 patients recruited (median disease duration 11.9 months) displayed high levels of disability [mean (S.D.) HAQ-DI 1.1 (0.83)], with ‘grip’ and ‘activity’ being most affected. Of the 18 activities assessed in the CHFS, those involving fine finger movements were most affected. High HAQ-DI and CHFS scores were both associated with high mRSS (ρ = 0.34, P < 0.0001 and ρ = 0.35, P < 0.0001, respectively). HAQ-DI was higher in patients with digital ulcers (P = 0.004), pulmonary fibrosis (P = 0.005), cardiac (P = 0.005) and muscle involvement (P = 0.002). As anticipated, HAQ-DI, CHFS, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy and SF36 scores were all highly correlated, in particular the HAQ-DI with the CHFS (ρ = 0.84, P < 0.0001). Worsening HAQ-DI over 12 months was strongly associated with increasing mRSS (ρ = 0.40, P < 0.0001), decreasing hand function (ρ = 0.57, P < 0.0001) and increasing fatigue (ρ = −0.53, P < 0.0001). Conclusion: The European Scleroderma Observational Study highlights the burden of disability in early dcSSc, with high levels of disability and fatigue, associating with the degree of skin thickening (mRSS). Impaired hand function is a major contributor to overall disability.

Item Type: Article
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Epidemiology and Public Health
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Musculoskeletal Medicine
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Nutrition and Preventive Medicine
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Public Health and Health Services Research (former - to 2023)
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Pure Connector
Date Deposited: 20 Feb 2018 12:30
Last Modified: 19 Apr 2023 09:31
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66313
DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/kex410

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item