A self-report articular index: relationship to variations in mood and disease activity measures

Self-report can provide an inexpensive method for monitoring disease activity or treatment response in RA, but may be affected by confounding variables such as the patient's mood. The relationship of a self-report articular index (AI) to other relevant parameters was assessed from data gathered at approximately monthly intervals from 16 women with RA. Statistical analysis showed that the AI covaried most strongly with other measures of disease activity and functional disability, while mood variables and ESR covaried separately. These results indicated that responses on the self-report AI paralleled disease activity, and were not merely an artifact of variations in the patient's mood.