J Rheumatol. 2023 Jul 1:jrheum.2022-1261. doi: 10.3899/jrheum.2022-1261. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the Multidimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire (MDHAQ) in screening for anxiety in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), in comparison to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) as the reference standard.

METHODS: Patients with a physician diagnosis of RA or PsA were invited to complete the MDHAQ and HADS at their routine Rheumatology Clinic visit. Sensitivity, specificity, percent agreement and kappa statistics were used to evaluate agreement between two MDHAQ items for anxiety and HADS-anxiety (HADS-A) score of 8 or more. The first is a question asked on a 4-point scale (0-3.3) and the second is a “yes”/”no” (blank) item asked within a 60-symptom checklist (ROS).

RESULTS: The study included 183 participants, of whom 126 (68.9%) had RA and 57 (31.1%) had PsA. The mean age was 57.3 years and 66.7% were female. Positive screen for anxiety according to a HADS-A score of 8 or more was seen in 39.3%. Compared to a HADS-A score of 8 or more, an MDHAQ score of 2.2 or more OR positive on ROS had a sensitivity of 69.9%, specificity of 73.6% and substantial agreement (percent agreement 80.9%, kappa statistic 0.59).

CONCLUSION: The MDHAQ provides information similar to the HADS to screen for anxiety in patients with RA and PsA. The use of this single questionnaire which can also be used to monitor clinical status, screen for fibromyalgia and depression without requiring multiple questionnaires, may present a valuable tool in routine clinical practice.

PMID:37399467 | DOI:10.3899/jrheum.2022-1261