Concurrent psychiatric disorders are associated with significantly poorer quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVES

To study the effect of concurrent psychiatric disorders on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

METHODS

Consecutive Chinese patients who fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for RA were recruited and interviewed by a psychiatrist for psychiatric disorders using the Chinese Bilingual Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders, Patient version (CB-SCID-I/P). HRQOL was assessed by the validated Chinese version of the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Sociodemographic and clinical data were also collected. Fatigue was assessed by the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy - Fatigue scale (FACIT-F).

RESULTS

Two hundred patients with RA were studied (79% women, mean age 51.4 ± 10.5 years; median RA duration 4.0 years). Forty-seven (23.5%) patients were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder: depressive disorders in 29 patients and anxiety disorders in 26 patients. Patients with either condition had significantly higher fatigue scores (26 ± 8.8 vs. 16 ± 6.9, p < 0.001) and were more likely to be unemployed (p = 0.02) and dependent on government subsidy for living (p < 0.001) than those without. The scores of the eight domains and the physical and mental components of the SF-36 were significantly lower in RA patients with psychiatric disorders (p < 0.001 in all). In a linear regression model, the presence of either depressive or anxiety disorders (β = -0.23, p < 0.001), older age (β = -0.16, p = 0.006), self-perceived pain (β = -0.25, p < 0.001) and fatigue (β = -0.42, p < 0.001) were independently and inversely associated with the total SF-36 score after adjustment for disease activity and other sociodemographic variables.

CONCLUSIONS

Concomitant depressive or anxiety disorders in RA patients are associated with significantly poorer HRQOL. Early identification and treatment of psychiatric disorders in RA patients are warranted.