Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease leading to disability which affects important areas of the patient’s life. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of social-demographic factors and disease activity parameters on the quality of life of patients with RA.
Material and methods: The study was performed in a group of 94 patients with RA. The quality of life was assessed by own questionnaire KALU and the HAQ disability index. For the measurement of activity of RA the disease activity score (DAS 28) was used.
Results: The correlation coefficient for the age and physical function, and also the age and earning ability determined on KALU were r = 0.24, p < 0.01 and r = 0.34, p < 0.05, respectively. We found that the duration of RA affects only the assessment of physical function (r = 0.2, p < 0.05). The disease activity scores correlated with the lower estimation of the quality of life conditioned by the physical function measured with HAQ (r = 0.49, p < 0.001) and with KALU (r = 0.41, p < 0.001). In the subgroup of patients who use various devices and/or who take help from other people, the activity of RA (DAS 28) was significantly higher (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Using both questionnaires a significant correlation between the quality of life and the loss of independence of patients with RA and disease activity was observed.