Last update:
29-Mar-2022

OBJECTIVE To assess the quality of life (QoL) of patients with common rheumatic diseases.

METHOD A cross-sectional study was carried out during September–November 2018 in the Southern Aegean, Greece, collecting data from 465 patients. The SF-36 scale was used, with levels of QoL compared between three groups of patients: (a) Those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) only, (b) those with RA and other rheumatic diseases, and (c) those with another rheumatic disease.

RESULTS The mean age of the respondents was 58.6 ±13.9 years, and 75.9% were females; 64.3% were diagnosed with RA, 18.5% with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 17.2% with spondyloarthritis. All the patients were found to have moderate to low levels of QoL, according to the scores on SF-36, with the highest mean level in "mental health" compared with "general health" (57.0 vs 39.1, p<0.001). A significant difference was found between the scores on the two main components, "mental health" and "physical health" (52.1 vs 41.2, p<0.001). Patients with RA and other rheumatic diseases recorded lower scores on physical functioning, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning and mental health than the other two groups (p<0.05), and in the total "physical health" and "mental health" components (p<0.01). A higher likelihood of low QoL was found in "physical health" for patients with RA and other rheumatic diseases (OR: 1.89, p=0.042) and for low QoL in "physical" and "mental health" in females and patients with increased comorbidity (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS All the health-related QoL components of patients with rheumatic diseases were found to be more impaired in patients with a combination of RA and other rheumatic diseases.

Key words: Morbidity status, Quality assessment, Quality of life, Rheumatic diseases, SF-36.