Abstract
BackgroundQuality of life (QOL) is a multidimensional concept that is used to describe the individuals’ perceptions, satisfaction, and evaluation of different areas of their own lives, such as physical health and functioning, psychological and emotional well-being, social roles, and relationships. Few studies have addressed the effect of rheumatoid disease on the QOL in the Egyptian community.ResultsFunctional disability based on health assessment questionnaire disability index was significantly increased with the increase in disease activity based on disease activity score-28, where all patients on remission and 56% of those with low disease activity had mild functional disability. Approximately 89% of patients with low disease activity had mild anxiety based on Hamilton anxiety scale, and the majority (75%) of those patients with moderate disease activity and 83.3% of patients on remission had mild anxiety. The majority (85.7%) of those with high disease activity were depressed based on Zung self-rating depression score. Disease activity score-28 score had a positive significant correlation with health assessment questionnaire disability index (P=0.01, r=0.40), Hamilton anxiety scale-A (P=0.01, r=0.46), Zung score (P=0.01, r=0.46), and rheumatoid arthritis QOL (r=0.70, P=0.00), and negative correlation with female sexual index (r=-0.80, P=0.00), all domains of SF-36, and all five domains of WHOQOL.ConclusionThis study confirms that rheumatoid arthritis causes impairment of all aspects of QOL (limitation of physical function, physical disability, and pain), mental health disorders (anxiety and depression), and social, environmental, and also sexual dysfunction.
Highlights
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune progressive disease affecting ∼1% of the general population [1]
This study found that degree of functional disability based on health assessment questionnaire disability index (HAQ-DI) was significantly increased with the increase in disease activity based on disease activity score (DAS)-28, whereas patients on remission and 56% of those with low
This is consistent with the study by Karpouzas et al [18] that provided evidence that functional disability was common in Chinese patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA); this study found that the risk of functional disability increases r= 0.70 P= 0.00
Summary
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune progressive disease affecting ∼1% of the general population [1] It is mainly a disease of the joints resulting in destruction of the joints and disability, and in severe cases, it may cause life-threatening complications [2]. QOL is defined as the general well-being of individuals and societies, based on the individual’s culture and life values with respect to that individual’s objectives, expectation, and standards. It is an important outcome variable in patients with chronic diseases. It reflects the influences of the personal social and economic resources that an individual has and the way in which these interact with health status. Few studies have addressed the effect of rheumatoid disease on the QOL in the Egyptian community
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