Differences in Longitudinal Disease and Treatment Characteristics of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Replying and Not Replying to a Postal Questionnaire. Experience from a Biologics Register in Southern Sweden.
Söderlin, Maria LU ; Jacobsson, Lennart LU ; Petersson, Ingemar LU ; Englund, Martin LU
; Saxne, Tore
LU
and Geborek, Pierre
LU
(2009)
In Journal of Rheumatology
36.
p.1166-1169
- Abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Studies on patients not answering postal questionnaires are scarce. We assessed the demographics and longitudinal disease and treatment characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a Swedish biologics register who replied and who did not reply to a postal questionnaire. METHODS: In the South Swedish Arthritis Treatment Group register, we have detailed disease severity characteristics at baseline and at followup for rheumatology patients taking biologic drugs. In 2005 a questionnaire on smoking, comorbidities, education, and ethnicity was sent to 1234 RA patients who had started their first biologic drug. RESULTS: In total, 989 subjects (80%) answered the questionnaire. The 245 (20%) who did not answer generally... (More)
- OBJECTIVE: Studies on patients not answering postal questionnaires are scarce. We assessed the demographics and longitudinal disease and treatment characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a Swedish biologics register who replied and who did not reply to a postal questionnaire. METHODS: In the South Swedish Arthritis Treatment Group register, we have detailed disease severity characteristics at baseline and at followup for rheumatology patients taking biologic drugs. In 2005 a questionnaire on smoking, comorbidities, education, and ethnicity was sent to 1234 RA patients who had started their first biologic drug. RESULTS: In total, 989 subjects (80%) answered the questionnaire. The 245 (20%) who did not answer generally had more severe RA [higher Disease Activity Score, worse Health Assessment Questionnaire score, higher visual analog scale scores for general health and pain at baseline and at followup, and stopped the drug treatment more frequently (72% vs 53%; p = 0.0001)]. There were no statistically significant differences in gender and disease duration between those who replied and those who did not reply, but in general the patients who did not reply were younger. CONCLUSION: Patients with RA in a Swedish biologics register not replying to a postal questionnaire had more severe RA and stopped biological drug treatment more frequently. Thus a detailed analysis of prospectively collected data can clarify selection bias introduced by subjects who do not answer a postal questionnaire, which may influence the validity and interpretation of results from postal survey studies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1412756
- author
- Söderlin, Maria
LU
; Jacobsson, Lennart
LU
; Petersson, Ingemar
LU
; Englund, Martin
LU
; Saxne, Tore
LU
and Geborek, Pierre
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2009
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Journal of Rheumatology
- volume
- 36
- pages
- 1166 - 1169
- publisher
- Journal of Rheumatology Publishing Company Limited
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000266891500015
- pmid:19411397
- scopus:67149127147
- ISSN
- 0315-162X
- DOI
- 10.3899/jrheum.081027
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 1c1e6f76-39d0-49b1-9b28-e50ecea59813 (old id 1412756)
- alternative location
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19411397?dopt=Abstract
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 07:32:20
- date last changed
- 2022-01-29 02:16:40
@article{1c1e6f76-39d0-49b1-9b28-e50ecea59813,
abstract = {{OBJECTIVE: Studies on patients not answering postal questionnaires are scarce. We assessed the demographics and longitudinal disease and treatment characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a Swedish biologics register who replied and who did not reply to a postal questionnaire. METHODS: In the South Swedish Arthritis Treatment Group register, we have detailed disease severity characteristics at baseline and at followup for rheumatology patients taking biologic drugs. In 2005 a questionnaire on smoking, comorbidities, education, and ethnicity was sent to 1234 RA patients who had started their first biologic drug. RESULTS: In total, 989 subjects (80%) answered the questionnaire. The 245 (20%) who did not answer generally had more severe RA [higher Disease Activity Score, worse Health Assessment Questionnaire score, higher visual analog scale scores for general health and pain at baseline and at followup, and stopped the drug treatment more frequently (72% vs 53%; p = 0.0001)]. There were no statistically significant differences in gender and disease duration between those who replied and those who did not reply, but in general the patients who did not reply were younger. CONCLUSION: Patients with RA in a Swedish biologics register not replying to a postal questionnaire had more severe RA and stopped biological drug treatment more frequently. Thus a detailed analysis of prospectively collected data can clarify selection bias introduced by subjects who do not answer a postal questionnaire, which may influence the validity and interpretation of results from postal survey studies.}},
author = {{Söderlin, Maria and Jacobsson, Lennart and Petersson, Ingemar and Englund, Martin and Saxne, Tore and Geborek, Pierre}},
issn = {{0315-162X}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{1166--1169}},
publisher = {{Journal of Rheumatology Publishing Company Limited}},
series = {{Journal of Rheumatology}},
title = {{Differences in Longitudinal Disease and Treatment Characteristics of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Replying and Not Replying to a Postal Questionnaire. Experience from a Biologics Register in Southern Sweden.}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.081027}},
doi = {{10.3899/jrheum.081027}},
volume = {{36}},
year = {{2009}},
}