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Effects of rheumatoid arthritis on household chores and leisure-time activities

  • Original Article - Observational Research
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Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine household chores and leisure-time activities most affected by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to evaluate the perceived impact on performing these activities. Also, our aim was to estimate the required and received assistance for household chores. In an interview study via telephone, 124 patients with moderate-to-severe RA, visiting a tertiary-level dermatological clinic, listed spontaneously without predefined list the household chores and leisure-time activities that they considered were particularly affected by the RA. Ability to perform household chores and leisure-time activities were asked. The need for outside assistance with household chores and help received were also determined. Rheumatoid arthritis affected wide range of everyday household activities, with tasks related to cleaning of the house mentioned most often. Eleven of the categories out of 16 were similar to those included in the HAQ index. The majority of the patients (84.6 %) reported disadvantage in performing household chores because of RA. More than half of the patients (55.7 %) received assistance with household chores, women significantly more often than men (69.0 vs. 26.3 %, p < 0.01). Most of the household chores mentioned were physically demanding. Leisure-time activities listed by respondents as affected by RA were mostly related to sport. The majority of patients (77.2 %) had either reduced or completely given up at least one leisure-time activity. When estimating the total burden of the disease, the impact on both household chores and leisure-time activities should be taken into account.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by unconditional grants from the research funds of the Hospital District of Southwest Finland.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical standard

All named authors meet the ICMJE criteria for authorship for this manuscript, take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, and have given final approval to the version to be published. The ethical committee of the Hospital District of Southwest Finland approved the study, and the sampled subjects received a written description of the sampling, study purposes, planned use, and storage of the information they were to provide. All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Declaration of Helsinki 1975, as revised in 2000 and 2008.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland

    Mauri Leino, Sini Tuominen & Laura Pirilä

  2. Department of Public Health, University of Turku, Lemminkäisenkatu 1, PO Box 20014, Turku, Finland

    Mauri Leino, Sini Tuominen & Risto Tuominen

  3. Primary Health Care Unit, Hospital District of Southwest Finland, Turku, Finland

    Risto Tuominen

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  1. Mauri Leino
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  2. Sini Tuominen
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Correspondence to Mauri Leino.

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Leino, M., Tuominen, S., Pirilä, L. et al. Effects of rheumatoid arthritis on household chores and leisure-time activities. Rheumatol Int 35, 1881–1888 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-015-3313-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-015-3313-2

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