The Nottingham health profile in rheumatoid arthritis: correlation with other health status measurements and clinical variables

The overall effect of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on general health status has drawn attention in recent years. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical relevance of the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) in RA patients and the relationship between conventional clinical measures, the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) METHOD: One hundred RA patients (mean age 48.9+/-12.1 years, mean disease duration 101.3+/-85.5 months) were included in the study. Quality of life, health status, and psychological mood of the patients were assessed using NHP, HAQ, and BDI. The Ritchie Articular Index (RAI), visual analog scale, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factor, and modified Larsen Scale were used to assess clinical, laboratory, and radiological changes. All subgroups of the NHP significantly correlated to VAS, RAI, BDI, and HAQ scores (P