Health-related quality of life in patients with common rheumatic diseases referred to a university clinic

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with common rheumatic diseases referred to a rheumatology clinic and to compare it to the HRQoL of the general population. All patients with a new referral to the Department of Rheumatology of the Helsinki University Central Hospital were asked to participate in the study during the period from May 2002 to April 2003. A total of 295 patients with various rheumatic diseases were included in the analysis: 99 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 47 with arthralgia and fibromyalgia, 43 with other chronic arthritis (spondyloarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, enteropathic arthritis), 44 with osteoarthritis (OA), 22 with active reactive arthritis (ReA), 17 with systemic rheumatic diseases, 9 adults with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and 14 with other diagnoses. HRQoL was measured by a disease specific instrument, the Stanford health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) and by a generic instrument, 15D. The mean baseline 15D score of the 295 included patients (0.822, SD 0.114) was significantly lower than of the general population (0.903, SD 0.098). Patients with OA and chronic arthritis reported the poorest HRQoL scores (both 0.810 on a 0-1 scale). In patients with RA and ReA the 15D score improved in a statistically significant and clinically important manner during the 8-month follow-up. Discomfort and symptoms caused by the disease were alleviated in a statistically significant manner in patients with RA as well as in those with arthralgia and fibromyalgia, chronic arthritis, ReA and systemic rheumatic diseases. HAQ score improved significantly in patients with RA, arthralgia and fibromyalgia, and ReA. The HRQoL of patients with common rheumatic diseases at referral to rheumatology clinic is significantly lower than the HRQoL of age-standardized general population. The most affected patients are those with OA, chronic arthritis and RA. A significant improvement in HRQoL with conventional interventions was achieved in patients with RA and ReA.

Impaired quality of life in adults with X-linked hypophosphatemia and skeletal symptoms

“…These indirect comparisons show that XLH adults have a lower QoL than the general population (26,27) and their QoL is close to that of patients with chronic diseases ( (29,32). We compared the XLH adults to ax-SpA patients because structural damages are comparable in both diseases including ossifications and enthesopathies ( Table 2).…”

Association of Knee Muscle Strength with Lower Extremity Dysfunction in Patients with Osteoarthritis: a Comparison with Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients and Healthy Controls

“…[4,23] Weight-bearing joints at the lower extremities, mainly the knees and hips, are frequently affected in patients with OA. [1] The involvement of the knee is also usual in RA.…”

Quality of life and discriminating power of two questionnaires in fibromyalgia patients: fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey

“…The combination of physical and mental symptoms interferes in different aspects of living such as work, family and leisure 13,27,28 . As in other syndromes, questionnaires are the most important form of assessing quality of life in order to compare patients with fibromyalgia and other chronic diseases 18,29 to healthy subjects 30 and to quantify the effectiveness of treatments 20,25,31 . Therefore, knowledge of the metric properties of the questionnaires is essential to evaluate their efficacy.…”