Usefulness of health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) and arthritis impact measurement scale (AIMS) in the evaluation of psoriatic arthritis disability

The disability of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) has been investigated in 260 patients selected among 2000 psoriatic subjects all over the national territory, sending by mail a self-assessment questionnaire with HAQ and AIMS. The functional status indices underlined different kinds of articular involvements in PsA, as well as moving abilities and daily living activities of patients. However their global scores were strictly related (rs = 0.702) showing that in the same PsA patient HAQ and AIMS do not present any relevant difference in the evaluation of the disability. The mean global score of the two methods was not very high, in agreement with the presence of a working activity of any kind, suggesting the patient ability to live with a chronic arthropathy. The lack of any correlation between the AIMS and HAQ global scores with the extent of the psoriatic involvement led us to believe that the cutaneous lesions do not considerably affect PsA disability. The cutaneous and articular lesions seem to represent distinct aspects of the same disease. Thus a global evaluation of PsA disability gains importance and it is advisable that more accurate instruments of evaluation should be available for a more complete management of the patient.