Objective:
Examine potential relationships between health-related quality of life (QoL), pain interference and self-reported arthritis and age, employment, activity, bleed frequency, and hemophilia treatment center (HTC) and healthcare professional utilization within the HERO psychosocial assessment study.
Methods:
In HERO, adults with hemophilia (≥18 years) from 10 countries completed a 5-point Likert scale on pain interference over the prior 4 weeks, EQ-5D-3L (mobility, usual activities, self-care, pain/discomfort, anxiety/depression) and EQ-5D health-related visual analog scale (VAS, 0-100, coded as an 11-point categorical response). US responses are considered below.
Summary:
Of 675 adults, 189 (90 with self-reported arthritis) respondents were from the US. Adults with arthritis were older; median age also increased with progressive disability and worsening pain. The percentages reporting full-time, part-time, or self-employment and the percentage reporting “good” EQ-5D VAS scores of 80-90-100 declined with increasing disability and pain interference. Median number of annual bleeds increased with increasing disability, pain interference, and arthritis. There was little difference in the median number of HTC visits per year in those reporting pain or arthritis. The percentage of adults reporting a lot/extreme pain interference was higher in those with more disability and with arthritis. Adults with increasing pain interference and arthritis were more likely to report social worker and nurse involvement. Physiotherapist utilization decreased with increasing disability and arthritis.
Conclusions:
In the US, increased disability and pain were associated with increased age, lower employment, higher reported bleed frequency, and lower QoL. Adults who reported experiencing more pain were more likely to report suffering from arthritis and more issues with mobility.