Demographic, disease, and job characteristics (n = 212).
| Variables | N | % |
|---|---|---|
| Age, yrs, mean (SD) | 50.5 (9.3) | |
| Women | 176 | 83.0 |
| Diagnosis | ||
| Osteoarthritis | 111 | 52.4 |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 101 | 47.6 |
| Disease duration | ||
| < 1 yr | 21 | 9.9 |
| 1–5 yrs | 72 | 34.0 |
| > 5 yrs | 115 | 54.2 |
| Education | ||
| High school or less | 38 | 17.9 |
| Some university or college | 83 | 39.2 |
| University graduate | 90 | 42.5 |
| Marital status | ||
| Single | 39 | 18.4 |
| Married, living as married, committed relationship | 125 | 59.0 |
| Divorced, separated, widowed | 47 | 22.2 |
| Current work status | ||
| Full-time | 150 | 70.8 |
| Part-time | 60 | 28.3 |
| Unemployed (i.e., looking for work) | 1 | 0.5 |
| Occupation | ||
| Business, finance, administration | 88 | 41.5 |
| Health, science, arts, sports | 69 | 32.5 |
| Sales and services | 38 | 17.9 |
| Trades, transport, equipment operators | 15 | 7.1 |
| Income (CAN$) | ||
| Prefers not to answer | 24 | 11.3 |
| < 20,000 | 22 | 10.4 |
| 20–34,999 | 23 | 10.8 |
| 35–49,999 | 34 | 16.0 |
| 50–74,999 | 50 | 23.6 |
| > 75,000 | 47 | 22.2 |
| Health status | ||
| Excellent or very good | 88 | 41.5 |
| Good | 88 | 41.5 |
| Fair or poor | 36 | 17.0 |
| Other medical problems | ||
| 0 | 83 | 39.2 |
| 1 | 64 | 30.2 |
| 2 | 45 | 21.2 |
| > 2 | 20 | 9.4 |
| Hindered by arthritis at work in the past 2 weeks | ||
| No, not at all | 117 | 55.2 |
| Yes, to a degree | 77 | 36.3 |
| Yes, very much | 16 | 7.5 |
| Absent from work due to arthritis in the past 2 weeks | 11 | 5.2 |
| Mean (SD) | Median (Q1–Q3) | |
| Health Assessment Questionnaire index (0–3) | 0.8 (0.6) | 0.9 (0.3–1.3) |
| Arthritis severity (1–7) | 3.1 (1.7) | 3.0 (1.0–4.0) |
| Pain score (0–100) | 35.2 (26.5) | 30.0 (10.0–60.0) |
| No. of working hours in the past 2 weeks | 69.9 (27.7) | 72.0 (51.9–80.0) |
| No. of working days in the past 2 weeks | 9.2 (2.5) | 10.0 (8.0–0.0) |