Impact of Rheumatoid Arthritis on Health Related Quality of Life in Elderly Patients
Impact of Rheumatoid Arthritis on Health Related Quality of Life in Elderly Patients
Hossameldin M. M. Abdelrahman (1) Amal E. E. Elawam (1) Khaled F. El-hassanein (2) Amr Abdelzaher (2)
me-jaa, March 2014 , Volume 11 - Issue 2
Abstract
The study was a cross-sectional study conducted to assess the relationship and effect of rheumatoid arthritis on quality of life of elderly subjects.
Methods
100 elderly subjects 60 years old and above were diagnosed with RA. Severity of the disease was assessed using Disease Activity Score (DAS) 28 score, and the quality of life was assessed using RAND-36 Health Survey.
Results
DAS 28 score was significantly related to age, duration of illness, presence of depression, and functional status. The DAS 28 score was significantly related to the whole 8 dimensions of RAND-36 Health Survey. Using Spearman's rho correlation, we found significant positive correlations between the DAS 28 score and age, duration of illness, depression, and functional status. There were significant negative correlations between the DAS 28 score and the whole 8 items of RAND-36 Health Survey.
To conclude
RAND-36 Health Survey deserves serious consideration for inclusion in the core set of outcomes in RA trials.
Key words
rheumatoid arthritis, quality of life, elderly