A modification of the Health Assessment Questionnaire for the spondyloarthropathies

J Rheumatol. 1990 Jul;17(7):946-50.

Abstract

A functional status measure was developed by adding 5 items to the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ-S), and compared to anthropometric measures of spinal mobility. Forty-four patients with spondylitis were evaluated by the HAQ-S and measures of spine flexibility (finger-to-floor, Smythe test, neck rotation, and chest expansion). Modification of the HAQ raised the mean difficulty score by 29% from 0.38 (SD = 0.49) to 0.49 (SD = 0.51), indicating increased ability to capture functional limitations. Neck rotation correlated most strongly with the HAQ-S score (r = -0.57), which suggests an important role for this measure in clinical management and followup of spondylitis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anthropometry
  • Exercise / physiology
  • Female
  • Health Surveys
  • Humans
  • Joint Diseases / physiopathology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Self Disclosure
  • Spinal Diseases / physiopathology*
  • Spine / pathology
  • Spine / physiopathology
  • Spondylitis / pathology*
  • Spondylitis / physiopathology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires / standards
  • Thorax / pathology
  • Thorax / physiopathology