Aim of the study: To evaluate quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to determine the relationship between the quality of life (QoL) and age, disease duration and activity, joint damage and serum vitamin D₃ concentration.
Material and methods: 119 consecutive RA patients (107 women and 12 men, aged 59.7 ±11.7 years) treated in the Department of Internal Diseases and Rheumatology WIM CSK MON, in whom serum vitamin D₃ concentration was measured, were included in the study. The patients completed SF-36, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Health Assessment Questionnaire, and the severity of pain and general fatigue was determined on a visual-analog scale. Laboratory tests included: blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), serum concentration of creatinine, calcium, phosphates and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol. Disease activity score (DAS28) was used to assess disease activity. In the statistical analysis the program Statistica version 10 was used.
Results: DAS28 was negatively correlated with the SF-36 and Beck depression scales. The patients with recent RA diagnosis had worse results than the other RA subjects in the depression scale and SF-36 domains associated with the impact of emotions and pain. The patients’ age, disease duration, degree of joint damage and 25(OH)D₃ serum concentration did not correlate significantly with QoL indices.
Conclusions: Rheumatoid arthritis has an important impact on quality of life because of pain and physical impairment. The patients with recent RA diagnosis are more susceptible to suffer from increased pain and depressed mood than the patients with established disease. Disease activity has a weak negative influence on quality of life of RA patients. The role of vitamin D deficiency in deterioration of quality of life in RA needs further studies.