Determinants of the hand functions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the hand function determinants and related factors of the patients with rheumatoidarthritis (RA).Material and Methods: Thirty nine patients with long standing rheumatoid arthritis were included in the study. Demographic, clinicaland laboratory findings of the patients were recorded. Duruoz Hand Index Data (DHI) was used for the assessment of the handfunctions. Disease acitivity was calculated by using Disease Activity Score (DAS) 28. In order to evaluate general disability, HealthAssessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI) was used. Grip and pinch strengths of the patients were measured by theJamar dynamometer.Results: Among all the patients, 82.1% were women. Mean age of the patients were 58.03±13.11 years. Mean disease durationwas 9.69 ± 8.96 years. Mean grip strength was 16.58±6.74 kg and pinch strength was 4.80±1.75 kg. Statistically significant positivecorrelation was found between hand functions measured by DHI and morning stiffness, HAQ-DI, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) hand,VAS global, DAS 28 and pinch (p