Assessment of health-related quality of life of patients with chronic arthritis

Abstract

The assessment of the quality of life as a subjective measure of therapeutic intervention outcome appears to be increasingly adopted by different fields of medicine. In contrast to conventional indicators of condition, which are recognized as objective outcomes, the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) focuses on the patient himself. HRQoL has been determined as the perception of the individual of his or her situation in the current culture and value system; it includes wishes, expectations and emotional responses of the individual related to his or her health. Chronic arthritis leads to irreversible structural changes in joints and consequently to impaired physical function and reduced HRQoL. Today there are validated disease specific ('target') questionnaires to assess HRQoL in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, but not yet in patients with psoriatic arthritis. A disease specific questionnaire makes easier approach to patients suffering from a specific rheumatic condition; it enables the comparison of HRQoL among patients suffering from the different types of chronic arthritis. The most frequently used questionnaire in the assessment of the HRQoL of patients suffering from chronic arthritis is the generic MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) which is considered as the 'gold standard'. It is a generic questionnaire for the assessment of HRQoL in patients with chronic arthritis. To our knowledge, there are only a few studies focused on the HRQoL of patients suffering from chronic arthritis in Serbia and Montenegro.