EVALUATION OF QUALITY OF LIFE SCALES ACCORDING TO DISEASE ACTIVITY IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Abstract

Objective: In addition to disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients; variables such as pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and sleep quality are also associated with quality of life. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between disease activity and quality of life scales in rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 92 consecutive rheumatoid arthritis patients who applied to Ankara City Hospital Rheumatology outpatient clinic in January-December 2020 were included. Demographic, clinical features and laboratory data were recorded. DAS28 for disease activity and pain-visual analogue score(VAS) and fatigue-VAS, hospital anxiety-depression(HAD), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) forms for quality of life assessment were filled by one-on-one interviews. Patients were grouped according to disease activity such as: “Low-DAS28 group” and “High-DAS28 group”. Results: In comparison with DAS28, pain-VAS, and fatigue-VAS, and some NHP scores (such as the total score and pain, physical activity, and fatigue subgroup scores) were statistically significantly higher in the High-DAS28 group than the Low-DAS28 group. However, no difference was found in HAD scores. Except the sleep disorder subgroup was higher in the High-DAS28 group, total and other subgroups scores of the PSQI were similar. Conclusion: Improving the quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis is one of the main objectives of treatment. A high disease activity seems to be more affecting the patients in terms of pain-VAS, fatigue-VAS, NHP total scores and NHP-pain, NHP physical activity subgroups than other the quality of life scales in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.