Association of patient and physician factors with early referral to rheumatologist
| Variable | Multivariable logistic regression |
| Adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) | |
| Patient characteristics | |
| Age | 1.01 (0.98 to 1.03) |
| Female | 0.84 (0.43 to 1.63) |
| Race, Caucasian | 0.58 (0.24 to 1.43) |
| Post-secondary education | 0.75 (0.39 to 1.44) |
| Working (full-time or part time) | 1.05 (0.51 to 2.17) |
| Distance to rheumatologist (km) | 1.00 (0.98 to 1.01) |
| CRP* | 1.01 (1.01 to 1.03) |
| Rheumatoid factor positive | 0.67 (0.37 to 1.24) |
| Physician-rated global disease severity | 0.95 (0.81 to 1.10) |
| Patient-rated global disease severity | 1.08 (0.94 to 1.23) |
| HAQ-DI | 0.70 (0.41 to 1.20) |
| Have a regular family doctor | 0.79 (0.32 to 1.86) |
| Referring physician characteristics | |
| GP | 1.00 |
| Non-GP | 1.29 (0.60 to 2.77) |
| Type of referral office | |
| Office by appointment | 1.00 |
| Hospital | 1.63 (0.65 to 4.07) |
| Walk-in/other | 1.29 (0.62 to 2.70) |
CRP, C-reactive protein; HAQ-DI, Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index.
*p<0.05.