Table 1.
General characteristics of study participants and frequency of facing CHEs.
| Variables | Categories | Numbers (n = 320) | Frequency of facing CHEs (n = 315) | Sig | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHE-No (N = 153) | CHE-Yes (N = 162) | ||||
| Gender | Male | 38 (11.9) | 21 (13.7) | 17 (10.5) | 0.379 |
| Female | 282 (88.1) | 132 (86.3) | 145 (89.5) | ||
| Age | 18–30 years | 8 (2.5) | 7 (4.5) | 1 (0.6) | 0.148 |
| 30–50 years | 103 (32.2) | 48 (31.4) | 53 (32.7) | ||
| 50–70 years | 174 (54.4) | 83 (54.3) | 88 (54.3) | ||
| More than 70 years | 35 (10.9) | 15 (9.8) | 20 (12.4) | ||
| Place of residence | Urban | 299 (93.4) | 148 (97.3) | 147 (90.7) | 0.029 |
| Rural | 21 (6.6) | 5 (2.3) | 15 (9.3) | ||
| Household size | 1–2 | 103 (32.2) | 37 (24.2) | 66 (40.7) | 0.000 |
| 3–5 | 168 (52.5) | 94 (61.4) | 72 (44.4) | ||
| More than 5 | 37 (11.5) | 21 (13.7) | 15 (9.3) | ||
| Not reported | 12 (3.8) | 1 (0.7) | 9 (5.6) | ||
| Education status | Literate | 286 (89.4) | 6 (3.9) | 25 (15.4) | 0.003 |
| Illiterate | 32 (10.0) | 146 (95.4) | 136 (84.0) | ||
| Not reported | 2 (0.6) | 1 (0.7) | 1 (0.6) | ||
| Employment status | Working | 66 (20.6) | 42 (27.5) | 24 (14.8) | 0.009 |
| Not working | 245 (76.6) | 105 (68.6) | 135 (83.3) | ||
| Not reported | 9 (2.8) | 6 (3.9) | 3 (1.9) | ||
| Household Earning members | None | 13 (4.1) | 1 (0.7) | 12 (7.4) | 0.000 |
| 1–3 | 270 (84.3) | 133 (87.7) | 136 (84.0) | ||
| 4 and above | 21 (6.6) | 17 (10.2) | 3 (1.8) | ||
| Not reported | 16 (5.0) | 2 (1.4) | 11 (6.8) | ||
| Household Income quartile# | First | 124 (39.4) | 11 (7.2) | 113 (69.7) | 0.000 |
| Second | 51 (16.1) | 23 (15.0) | 28 (17.3) | ||
| Third | 68 (21.6) | 51 (33.3) | 17 (10.5) | ||
| Fourth | 72 (22.9) | 68 (44.5) | 4 (2.5) | ||
| Smoking | Yes | 9 (2.8) | 3 (2.0) | 6 (3.7) | 0.353 |
| Drinking | Yes | 8 (2.5) | 2 (1.3) | 6 (3.7) | 0.177 |
| BMI | Underweight (< 18.5) | 11 (3.4) | 6 (3.9) | 5 (3.1) | 0.084 |
| Normal (18.5 to < 25) | 90 (28.1) | 46 (30.1) | 41 (25.3) | ||
| Overweight (< 25 to 30) | 111 (34.7) | 60 (39.2) | 50 (30.9) | ||
| Obesity (> 30) | 87 (27.2) | 31 (20.3) | 56 (34.5) | ||
| Not reported | 21 (6.6) | 10 (6.5) | 10 (6.2) | ||
| Insurance availability | Yes | 26 (8.1) | 15 (9.8) | 11 (6.8) | 0.331 |
| Carpal tunnel | Yes | 100 (31.3) | 43 (28.1) | 55 (34.0) | 0.263 |
| No | 220 (68.7) | 110 (71.9) | 107 (66.0) | ||
| Tarsal tunnel | Yes | 121 (37.8) | 57 (37.2) | 63 (38.9) | 0.765 |
| No | 199 (62.2) | 96 (62.8) | 99 (61.1) | ||
| Disease duration | Less than 1 year | 44 (13.8) | 26 (17.0) | 18 (11.1) | 0.188 |
| 1–5 years | 81 (25.3) | 40 (26.1) | 40 (24.7) | ||
| 5–10 years | 86 (26.9) | 33 (21.6) | 51 (31.5) | ||
| 10–20 years | 88 (27.5) | 46 (30.1) | 41 (25.3) | ||
| More than 20 years | 21 (6.6) | 8 (5.2) | 12 (7.4) | ||
| Rheumatoid factor | Positive | 237 (74.0) | 111 (72.6) | 122 (75.3) | 0.278 |
| Negative | 69 (21.6) | 38 (24.8) | 31 (19.1) | ||
| Not reported | 14 (4.4) | 4 (2.6) | 9 (5.6) | ||
| Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide | Positive | 188 (58.8) | 90 (58.8) | 95 (58.6) | 0.988 |
| Negative | 80 (25.0) | 39 (25.5) | 41 (25.3) | ||
| Not reported | 52 (16.2) | 24 (15.7) | 26 (16.1) | ||
| Functional status | Mild (HAQ < 1) | 159 (49.7) | 84 (54.9) | 73 (45.1) | |
| Moderate (HAQ 1 to 1.5) | 56 (17.5) | 26 (17.0) | 30 (18.5) | 0.191 | |
| Severe (HAQ > 1.5) | 105 (32.8) | 43 (28.1) | 59 (36.4) | ||
| Disease activity | Remission (DAS < 2.6) | 21 (6.6) | 13 (8.5) | 8 (4.9) | 0.020 |
| Low (DAS 2.6 to < 3.2) | 27 (8.4) | 17 (11.1) | 9 (5.6) | ||
| Moderate (DAS 3.2 to < 5.1) | 141 (44.1) | 73 (47.7) | 67 (41.4) | ||
| Severe (DAS > 5.1) | 131 (40.9) | 50 (32.7) | 78 (48.1) | ||
Figures in parathesis are percentage to row total #n = 315.