International Journal of Rheumatology

Research Article

Work Ability and Employment in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Role of Muscle Strength and Lower Extremity Function

Table 2

Associations between grip strength, knee extensor strength, lower extremity function, and employment status (dependent variable: gainfully employed).


	Employment status (gainfully employed)
		Handgrip strength (HGS)			Knee extensor strength (KES)			Short physical performance battery score (SPPB)
Model	Variable	R²	OR	95% CI	R²	OR	95% CI	R²	OR	95% CI

I	HGS/KES/SPP	0.09	1.04	1.01-1.07	0.22	1.06	1.03-1.10	0.14	1.49	1.14-1.94
I	HGS/KES/SPP	0.38	1.05	1.00-1.09	0.44	1.06	1.02-1.11	0.41	1.46	1.07-2.00
	Age - years		0.88	0.83-0.95		0.89	0.83-0.96		0.89	0.83-0.95
	Gender: male		-	Reference		- -	Reference		- -	Reference
	female		1.15	0.32-4.16		1.53	0.34-3.96		0.41	0.14-1.23
	Education: compulsory		- -	Reference		- -	Reference		- -	Reference
	secondary		4.12	1.08-15.71		3.88	1.01-14.88		4.81	1.25-18.55
	higher		3.52	0.49-25.93		3.91	0.48-31.66		2.87	0.37-21.87
II	HGS/KES/SPP	0.38	1.05	0.99-1.12	0.48	1.07	1.02-1.13	0.48	1.71	1.18-2.49
	Age - years		0.89	0.83-0.96		0.90	0.83-0.98		0.89	0.82-0.96
	Gender: male		- -	Reference		-	Reference		- -	Reference
	female		1.26	0.30-5.32		1.09	0.29-4.04		0.29	0.08-1.00
	Education: compulsory		- -	Reference		- -	Reference		- -	Reference
	secondary		4.32	1.00-18.57		4.09	0.97-17.26		6.59	1.42-30.64
	higher		4.81	0.48-47.70		6.05	0.54-68.54		4.97	0.46-53.36
	bDMARD therapy - yes vs. no		2.46	0.85-7.13		2.32	0.78-6.94		2.65	0.88-7.98
	Comedication - yes vs. no		0.67	0.11-3.94		0.48	0.08-2.85		0.66	0.11-3.93
	Comorbidity - yes vs. no		0.93	0.15-5.92		1.46	0.21-10.00		0.93	0.14-6.11
	Pain intensity - yes vs. no		0.92	0.69-1.21		1.00	0.75-1.36		0.96	0.71-1.30
	CRP - mg /dl		1.02	0.98-1.06		1.02	0.99-1.06		1.04	1.00-1.08

Binary logistic regression analysis. OR=odds ratios, HGS=handgrip strength, KES=knee extensor strength, SPPB=short physical performance battery, bDMARDs=biological disease modifying antirheumatic drug, and CRP=C-reactive protein.
p≤ 0.05; p≤ 0.01; kg HGS/KES; per point of the SPPB score; II adjusted for sociodemographic variables p≤0.02 in univariate analysis; adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical variables p≤ 0.2 in univariate analysis.