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Abstract Fatigue and Pain Levels in Women of Child-Bearing Age with Rheumatoid Arthritis Lisa M. Bucklin 2000 The purpose of this t-test design study is to describe the relationship between levels of fatigue and joint pain during the luteal phase of the ovarian cycle in child-bearing women diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Two groups of child-bearing women in the rural Midwest completed a visual analogue scale rating fatigue and joint pain throughout two menstrual cycles during the months of January, February, March and April. One group consisted of child-bearing women with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and without a familial history of the disease. The second group consisted of child-bearing women free of rheumatoid arthritis and without a familial history of the disease. Statistical analysis using t-test found significant differences in the mean fatigue and pain scores between women with RA and women without RA over the entire ovarian cycle. There was no significant difference between the fatigue and pain scores within groups during the luteal phase compared to the menstrual phase of the ovarian cycle.
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