@article{DuerSteinerStofferetal.2016, author = {D{\"u}r, M. and Steiner, G. and Stoffer, M.A. and Fialka-Moser, V. and Kautky-Willer, A. and Dejaco, C. and Ekmekcioglu, C. and Prodinger, Birgit and Binder, A. and Smolen, J. and Stamm, T. A.}, title = {Initial evidence for the link between activities and health: Associations between a balance of activities, functioning and serum levels of cytokines and C-reactive protein}, series = {Psychoneuroendocrinology}, volume = {65}, journal = {Psychoneuroendocrinology}, pages = {138 -- 148}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Growing evidence shows interrelations of psychological factors, neurological and immunological processes. Therefore, constructs like a balance of activities, the so called "occupational balance", could also have biological correlates. The aim of this study was to investigate potential associations between occupational balance, functioning, cytokines and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients suffering from a chronic inflammatory disease like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy people. Moreover, we wanted to explore potential differences in gender and employment status. A descriptive study in patients with RA and healthy people was conducted using the Occupational Balance-Questionnaire (OB-Quest) and the Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36). Serum levels of cytokines, such as interleukin 6 (IL-6) and 8 (IL-8), interferon alpha (INFα), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), rheumatoid factor (RF) and of CRP were measured. Descriptive statistics, as well as Mann-Whitney U tests and Spearmen's rank correlation coefficients (rs) were calculated. One-hundred-thirty-two patients with RA and 76 healthy people participated. Occupational balance was associated with functioning, cytokines and CRP. The strongest associations were identified in the unemployed healthy-people sample with cytokines and CRP being within the normal range. For example, the OB-Quest item challenging activities was associated with IL-8 (rs = - 0.63, p = 0.04) and the SF-36 sub-scale bodily pain was associated with IFNα (rs = - 0.69, p = 0.02). The items rest and sleep (rs = - 0.71, p = 0.01) and variety of different activities (rs = - 0.74, p < 0.01) correlated with the SF-36 sub-scale social functioning. Employed and unemployed people differed in their age and CRP levels. Additionally, gender differences were found in two OB-Quest items in that fewer women were able to adapt their activities to changing living conditions and fewer men were overstressed. In conclusion, we found preliminary biological evidence for the link between occupation and health in that the concepts encompassed in the construct of occupational balance were associated with functioning, cytokines and CRP.}, language = {en} } @article{ProdingerStammPeterssonetal.2016, author = {Prodinger, Birgit and Stamm, T. and Petersson, D. and Stucki, G. and Tennant, A.}, title = {Toward a standardized reporting of outcomes in hand osteoarthritis: Developing a common metric of outcome measures commonly used to assess functioning.}, series = {Arthritis Care \& Research}, volume = {68}, journal = {Arthritis Care \& Research}, number = {8}, pages = {1115 -- 1127}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Objective Functioning is an important outcome in hand osteoarthritis (OA). The heterogeneity of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) available challenges the direct comparability of information collected by these instruments. This study aimed to examine whether it is possible to achieve metric equivalence of PROMs commonly used to measure functioning in people with hand OA. Methods A secondary analysis of data from 253 persons who participated in the Vienna Hand Osteoarthritis Cohort Study was conducted applying the Rasch measurement model. Participants completed the Health Assessment Questionnaire, the Australian/Canadian Index for Hand Osteoarthritis, the Functional Index for Hand Osteoarthritis (FIHOA), and the Cochin Scale. The assumptions of stochastic ordering, local independence, unidimensionality, and invariance were tested for each scale independently before the scales were co-calibrated onto a common metric. Results Except for the FIHOA, all measures indicated issues of local dependency in the initial analyses. After accommodating those with testlets, all scales satisfied the assumptions of the Rasch model (χ2 > 0.05). Marginal misfit in 2 items was found in the FIHOA, but this did not disturb person estimates. As the 4 scales form a common metric that satisfies the assumptions of the Rasch model, the scores can be equated. Conclusion The scores of the 4 hand function measures can be transformed to a common 0-100 metric, such that scores can be interchanged. A user-friendly transformation table enables clinicians and researchers to have access to the common metric by simply adding up the total score for each instrument and identifying the corresponding transformed score on the common metric.}, language = {en} }