Arthritis Activity and Work Limitation in Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2011-2013 Data

This study used 2011-2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to provide a cross-sectional evaluation of the relationship between the exposure arthritis attributable joint pain and two outcomes: arthritis attributable activity limitation and arthritis attributable work limitation. Co-variates representing the domains: sociodemographic factors, health status factors and health behaviors were included in the analysis to assess how their inclusion affected the relationship between main exposure and each of the outcomes. Arthritis attributable joint pain was evaluated as both a dichotomous variable (yes/no joint pain) and a categorical variable (no joint pain, mild-moderate joint pain, and severe joint pain). For each relationship evaluated, arthritis attributable joint pain was a significant risk factor for arthritis attributable activity limitation and arthritis attributable work limitation in both the crude and fully adjusted models. Fully adjusted odds ratios for the relationship between arthritis attributable joint pain and arthritis attributable activity limitation were, for dichotomous joint pain: 9.2 (8.3, 10.1), for categorical joint pain: mild-moderate 6.1 (5.5, 6.7), severe 24.9 (22.4, 27.6). Fully adjusted odds ratios for the relationship between arthritis attributable joint pain and arthritis attributable work limitation were, for dichotomous joint pain: 7.0 (5.9, 8.4), for categorical joint pain: mild-moderate 4.3 (3.6, 5.1), severe 17.1 (14.4, 20.4). Other statistically significant modifiable risk factors identified were self-reported health status and physical activity, though their odds ratios were smaller, ranging from 2.5-3.7 and 1.1-1.4 respectively. Future work in this area could focus on the relative contribution of co-variates with regard to the relationship between the main exposure and the outcomes, as well as identifying other factors which may affect these relationships.