Authors: Ana M Alarcón Sergio Muñoz Jay S Kaufman Carlos Martínez Pablo Riedemann Sonia Kaliski
Publish Date: 2014/09/02
Volume: 35, Issue: 4, Pages: 685-689
Abstract
The aim of this study was to estimate the contributions of ethnic group and socioeconomic status as social determinants related to disability and disease activity in Chilean Mapuche and nonMapuche patients with rheumatoid arthritis RA Descriptive crosssectional study with a stratified hospitalbased sample of 189 patients in treatment with diseasemodifying antirheumatic drugs We assessed disability as categorical variable with the Health Assessment Questionnaire disease activity with the Disease Activity Score instrument and socioeconomic status with a standard questionnaire used by the Chilean government Measures of association stratified analyses and a multiple logistic regression model were used to analyze the data using the Stata 121 software package Low socioeconomic status annual income below US 7200 is associated with disability OR 387 CI 168–920 and Mapuche ethnic identity also contributes to disability OR 248 CI 109–589 Relevant but not statistically significant in multivariable models were variables such as age gender and place of residence RA patients with a low socioeconomic status have almost three times the odds of having a moderate to high disability independent of their ethnic group gender or place of residence Therefore healthcare efforts should be aimed at promoting early diagnosis and prompt treatment among populations with high levels of poverty which in the region of the Araucanía means primarily indigenous rural areas
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