Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory autoimmune disease with impact on increasing the morbidity and mortality rates. Different levels of disease activity (LDA) have been established, however, its impact on pain and quality of life have yet to be been evidenced. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship of different levels of disease activity on the painful profile and quality of life (QOL) of patients diagnosed with RA. This was a cross-sectional study, conducted in RA patients attending an Educational Outpatient Care Service in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The LDA was defined according to values of Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and number of swollen and sore joints, according to the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28). Types of pain were assessed using the Douleur Neuropathique en 4 questions (DN4). To evaluate QOL, the Short Form (36) Health Survey (SF-36) and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) were applied. The association between LDA, QOL and painful profile was verified using One Way-ANOVA and Bonferroni correction post-test. A high LAD was observed in 67.7% of the 96 patients

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that can cause persistent pain, joint damage and permanent deformities, especially in hands and feet bilaterally. The presence of pain in RA has been explained by activation of local nociceptors, resulting from the destruction and cell death in the articular and periarticular structures affected. However, recent studies have been suggested that neuropathic pain is common in RA.Objective: To investigate the association between the level of inflammation and the degree of deformity to the type of pain in functional joints of the hands in individuals with RA.Methodology: Cross-sectional study carried out in a teaching-service outpatient referral, in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The deformations were performed by the Larsen scale on hands radiographs of hands and wrists, the level of inflammation by means of C-reactive protein and the type of pain by the DN4 questionnaire. We used the chi-square test for statistical analysis (5% alpha). CAAE number: 51642315.5.0000.5544. Results: The sample was composed by 95 participants with level of disease activity from moderate too high. Differences were found between neuropathic and nociceptive pain in relation to the degree of deformity to the left (p=0.004) and right (p=0.039) wrists. The pain was made available evenly between nociceptive and neuropathic (P>0.050). Lower degree of deformity was associated with the presence of right wrist neuropathic pain and greater deformity condition with presence of left wrist nociceptive pain. Conclusion:The wrist is the joint most affected by nociceptive pain. Small deformities associated with neuropathic pain while high degrees of deformity are more frequent in nociceptive pain.