Figure 1

Identification diagram of a structural equation model of the relationship between the stages of impairment and functional limitation in rheumatoid arthritis. Two types of impairment, joint inflammation and joint deformity are shown as ovals on the left. Measurements for these latent variables include joint tenderness (JT), joint swelling (JS) and joint pain (JP), for joint inflammation; and joint deformities. We disaggregated joint deformities into upper limb (DUL), lower limb (DLL) joints, and other joints (DOJ). Several of the parameters were constrained to enable estimation. Circles represent residuals or disturbance terms, for each variable. See Table 1 for parameter estimates.