Raildo Oliveira da Silva Filho, Marynara Fabíola Silva Araújo, Andreia Ravinia do Nascimento Oliveira, Maria Eduarda Medeiros da Costa Figueiredo, Dimitri Taurino Guedes, Renata Newman Leite Dos Santos Lucena, Leonildo Santos do Nascimento Junior, Thais Marques Lima, Eleazar Marinho de Freitas Lucena
Pain, functional capacity and vitality were independently associated with upper limb disability in individuals with chronic chikungunya. These findings support a person-centered approach to rehabilitation by highlighting key domains that may guide individualized assessment and rehabilitation strategies for people living with chronic chikungunya.
RELEVANCE TO THE JOURNAL: Responding to the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice's emphasis on person-centered care, this study examines how pain, functional capacity and vitality influence lived disability and rehabilitation needs in individuals with chronic chikungunya.
RATIONALE: Chikungunya is an arbovirus transmitted by the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes and is the second most prevalent pathogen related to acute febrile illnesses in Latin America. Among the three possible phases of the disease (acute, subacute, and chronic), the chronic phase occurs when symptoms persist for more than 90 days. During this period, many individuals may experience functional deficits in their upper limbs, compromising daily activities and affecting their quality of life.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze upper limb functional disability based on health-related quality of life components in individuals with chronic chikungunya.
METHOD: This cross-sectional observational study, with a quantitative approach, was carried out in the municipality of Santa Cruz, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, from April to November 2023. Seventy-four individuals with chronic chikungunya sequelae participated in the study and were assessed using three instruments: a sociodemographic and health status questionnaire, developed by the research team; the Short Form-36 (SF-36); and the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression to examine the independent association between SF-36 domains and upper limb disability, adopting a significance level of 5%.
RESULTS: Pain (β = -0.410), functional capacity (β = -0.274) and vitality (β = -0.233) were independently associated with upper-limb disability. Together, these variables explained 52.3% of the variability in DASH scores (R2 = 0.523).
CONCLUSION: Pain, functional capacity and vitality were independently associated with upper limb disability in individuals with chronic chikungunya. These findings support a person-centered approach to rehabilitation by highlighting key domains that may guide individualized assessment and rehabilitation strategies for people living with chronic chikungunya.