Contact Frequency, Travel Time, and Travel Costs for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Table 1

Characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) invited to complete a survey including questions on travel costs to health providers.

	Individuals invited to survey (𝑛=3704)
	Completed travel questions (𝑛=2847)		Returned questionnaire but did not complete travel questions (𝑛=308)		Did not return the questionnaire (𝑛=549)
Gender
Male	708	25%	85	28%	131	24%
Female	2139	75%	223	72%	418	76%
Age group (yrs.)
≤50	679	24%	18	6%	126	23%
51–75	1868	66%	209	68%	269	49%
>76	300	11%	81	26%	154	28%
Cohabiting
Single	932	33%	144	47%	NA
With partner	1915	67%	164	53%	NA
Residential area
Rural/small towns	1832	64%	219	71%	340	62%
Larger cities	1015	36%	89	29%	209	38%
Education
Short or none	710	33%	117	61%	NA
Medium term	1047	49%	131	69%	NA
Long	1090	51%	60	31%	NA
In the labor market
Yes	981	34%	30	10%	NA
No	1672	59%	220	71%	NA
Missing data	194	7%	58	19%	NA
Disease duration (RA)
0–2 years	684	24%	64	21%	124	23%
3–10 years	1136	40%	127	41%	196	36%
10+ years	1027	36%	117	38%	229	42%
C-reactive protein level
Normal	1998	70%	199	65%	350	64%
Elevated	849	30%	109	35%	199	36%
Body mass index (BMI)
Underweight	106	4%	8	3%	NA
Normal	1531	54%	178	58%	NA
Overweight	832	29%	91	30%	NA
Obese	378	13%	31	10%	NA
Biological medicine
No	2249	79%	264	86%	464	85%
Yes	598	21%	44	14%	85	15%
Health score (mean, sd)
Global VAS; (𝑛=2847; 308; 549)	35	(25)	34	(24)	36	(7)
HAQ score (𝑛=2846; 308)	0.7	(0.6)	0.6	(0.6)	NA
EQ-5D VAS (𝑛=2520; 158)	40	(28)	54	(33)	NA
EQ-5D index (𝑛=2520; 158)	0.307	(0.421)	0.453	(0.468)	NA

Notes: VAS: visual analog scale; HAQ: health assessment questionnaire; NA: not available.