Health-related quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

In this review the influence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) on a wide range of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) domains will be described. The domains most frequently studied are pain, functional disability, fatigue and mental problems. In addition, age and socio-economic aspects such as employment and economic status as well as education affect patient-reported HRQoL.Although many studies have assessed the impact on HRQoL of a single disease state, either RA or AS, few studies have focused on a direct comparison between those both diagnostic groups. In general, patients with RA and AS report significant decrements in HRQoL in comparison with the general population. It has been shown that the magnitude of the impairment is similar among both patients group.