J Rheumatol
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To investigate the prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) in knee, hip, and hand in a general population in Norway and the burden of disease in terms of associations between the report of OA and health-related variables. ⋯ The overall prevalence of OA was 12.8% and higher prevalence was found among women and older people, people with less than 12 years of education, those out of work, and those overweight. OA was associated with pain, disability, and poor health status, and frequent use of healthcare providers.
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To examine the longterm effect of etanercept (ETN) therapy on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and utility in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. ⋯ Patients continuing ETN therapy sustained HRQOL and utility improvements attained during the original PLA-controlled trial. Patients previously taking PLA showed rapid and sustained improvements in HRQOL and utility and substantial QALY gain with ETN therapy.
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To examine the comparative internal and external responsiveness of the generic Medical Outcome Study Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) and disease-specific measures in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ⋯ Our study showed comparable internal and external responsiveness of the SF-36 compared with disease-specific measures (AIMS2, HAQ, NRS pain) in all health domains, except social function and general health domains. The assumption that disease-specific measures are more responsive to detect intervention-related changes over time is not confirmed by our data.